24 days with Hermione Granger
by The cat with blue eyes
Summary: It had been one year since they last saw each other and their last encounter ended with a kiss. As Hermione go on an unexpected holiday in Romania what will happen? What does Charlie want ? Will Hermione choose her beloved work or Charlie? Is the reserve as safe as they think?
1. Chapter 1 : 1st December

It was December the first. London was humming with Christmas' preparations. The air was crispy cold but that did not stop the city to be alive. People were rushing in and out the subway stations, car horns were honking. It was a normal day in the city, the extra agitation only due to the holiday approaching.

It had been a rough year, after the terrorist attack that targeted London two years ago, the country had gone into war. The government has been reelected since then and they managed to hold one of their electing promise: all troops were back in Britain for December. Everything was as well as it could be.

Unbeknownst to the Muggle, the magic community was buzzing. It wasn't just the fact that Christmas was coming, no it was just that the last trial of the Death Eater was going to end soon. After more than one year of trials the whole magic society was tired. But that did not mean that everything was solved.

Hermione Granger, aspiring Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was currently rushing through the crowd. Her arms were carrying at least five different files and she looked determined. As always she looked very neat, her attire totally professional. It was 6am and Hermione was going to work. She had worked hard the last night and you could see that in the black lines under her eyes. But as she said herself: "you don't go to the top by laying on your ass".

She went to her office and immediately she began to sort her mail. She always arrived at 6am so that she had time to sort a bit her stuff before new owls arrived. At 6:50 she stood up and went to fetch a bag in one of her cupboard. She filled a bowl near her door with owl's food and then folded quietly the bag and put it back in the cupboard. She sent proceed to retrieve the flowers one of her admirer had send her the previous day. Each day she will receive a different bouquet and she liked it.

She exhaled deeply and braced herself for the day to come. As soon as 7 rang someone entered her office. Another file she had to examine before the end of the day. That was when she blessed her reading's habit, she did not get tired easily when it came to reading and she could read faster and memorize faster than everyone else. She soon get absorbed in the file treating of an altercation between a goblin and a Muggle.

She stopped working at 10 because it was coffee break. The whole service stopped working for fifteen minutes and exchange pleasantries, discuss and build friendships. Hermione loved that here she was not considered as a bookworm. Yes everyone was still looking at her for help whenever they had a big file but it was more rewarding now that some people's life were at stake.

After the welcome break everyone get back to work. Their department was one of the most important as they controlled everything related to law. That was why people usually did not stay long in this department. It asked too much and the higher you get the more difficult it was. No one last more than five years in that service. With already one year in the counter Hermione was already experienced. And she was vice-head. It was really impressive how fast she had climbed the ladder of success.

But that had a toll on her. She managed to see Harry and Ron every Monday for lunch and the rest of the gang once a month for dinner. But it sometimes felt like she was obligated to go and not what she really wanted to do. She had no social life except those two meetings and the coffee break. She did not sleep well and sometimes she forgot to eat. As a consequence she was getting thinner and had to take some medications to not have a break down. But she loved her job and helping people.

It was Monday and she was quite happy that she would get to see her two best friends for lunch. Yes best friends. Despite Molly Weasley's scheming her and Ron knew that the kiss they shared was a onetime thing. They might have loved each other when they were younger but the war had really enable them to see they weren't made for each other. They were now both working as Aurors and so they hang out a lot together. It was always refreshing to see them so when the clock hit 1pm Hermione grabbed her coat and went to their favorite restaurant.

Of course she was the first to arrive. She rolled her eyes at the thought. But when she saw them coming to join her she could not help but smile. They both hugged her before going to the table and ordering. As always, the conversation flew easily between them. Nothing could break their friendship.

It was already dessert when Ron dropped his bomb.

"So Hermione are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked without much thought. Hermione was always ready for everything, after all. But he feared he had forgotten something so he was actually looking forward hearing her list of things done.

"I'm sorry but what happens tomorrow?" She was a bit taken aback by his question. Today was a normal day right?

"Well we're taking the portkey to visit my brother Charlie for the holidays as you must remember". Ron was surprised. But, with all the work she put herself in, it was no wonder she might have momentarily forgotten something.

"We're going to see your brother?!" She was clearly not ready to hear that. She never knew they were supposed to leave Great Britain soon. And how was she supposed to leave for holidays when she was overloaded by work?

After some research, they discovered that Hermione never received the owl inviting her over for the holiday. But, not wanting to disappoint the Weasley's family and after a long heartfull discussion with her best friends, Hermione agreed to come. After all portkey existed for a reason. She could still work even if she was in Romania.

It was only when she came back home early that she realized she actually would have to face Charlie Weasley. After their last encounter she was not sure she wanted it to happen. But she was Hermione Granger, war heroin, so she braced herself and began packing. She finished one hour later at 6:30. She prepared something to eat and got back to work. She finally went to bed at 1am and swore a little when she had to set up her alarm clock at 4. She had to wake up earlier in order to be on time at the portkey.

Charlie was currently busy, trying to tidy his room before going to work. He knew that after his long day of work he won't have the courage to do it. He sighed. He was definitely happy to see his family but they will arrive at the worst time possible, someone was stealing from the reserve, and he was not sure he could stand to be so close to Hermione without doing anything. His thoughts began to drift towards their last encounter.

_Eleven months ago_

_It was New Year's eve at the burrow and the Weasley had invited all their friends. That is the reason why Charlie was currently speaking with Neville Longbottom. They were currently discussing the effect of dragon blood on plants when Hermione approached them. They stayed together the whole evening and talked about their respective job or remembering stories from Hogwarts._

_When midnight was nearing Hermione went to look for her best friends, Neville for Luna and Charlie decided that he should met his parents. As Ron was currently speaking with his father, Hermione and Charlie went that way together._

_They were suddenly stopped by a magical force. They looked around themselves, quite stunned. Charlie finally found the reason of their stillness: they were beneath mistletoe. George had decided that the best way to remember his dear twin was to put some charms on mistletoe. He, of course, planned it more carefully than he would have before. Which means that person from the same family had to kiss yes but only on the cheek. The same goes if one of the person was married: the only person he had to kiss on the mouth was his spouse. But, if the two persons caught by the mistletoe were single, then they had to kiss._

_Charlie looked expectedly at Hermione, praying that she was in a relationship. When he saw her cheeks blushed he groaned inwardly. _

"_Let's do it quickly, ok?" he suggested. Hermione only nodded. He decided to take things in hand after that. He took her in his arm and slowly made her lift her chin. He took his breath in and put his lips on hers._

_He was planning on just doing a quick pick on her lips but he felt himself attracted to her more than was reasonable. He pressed his lips a bit more against hers and he felt her surprise. But she seemed to like it because he could feel her opening her lips, granting him entrance. He was about to grant her request when the crowd began the countdown. They quickly parted, quite shocked about what happened._

_They did not have time to speak as suddenly Ron, Harry and Ginny joined them. Feeling out Charlie left them after a few minutes. He expected to bump into her later but an hour later he felt his wand vibrating. That was the sign that he was needed at the reserve so he packed and left, having just enough time to warn his mother of his immediate departure._

Since then he hadn't seen her or hear about her. Well, he always took things in their own time so he decided not to worry about it yet. He would see the next day how she would act and he would mimic her behavior. Of course he would not deny that he was attracted to her but it wasn't as if he was desperate. Yes she was quite handsome but he had seen more beautiful girls. And he was quite a charmer so he knew if he wanted her he would have her.

Having settled this problem for the moment, Charlie came back to the task at hand, aka finding which of his clothes were clean and which weren't. Once this gruesome task was finished it was time for him to go to real work.

When he finally came home, his whole body was sore and he was starving. He just had enough force to gulp down a dinner and take a shower before collapsing on his bed. Just before falling asleep he smiled, happy at the thought that the next day he would finally see his family.

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><p><strong>Hope you like it. Please give me your opinion on this first chapter. And if you see any mistake tell me :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 : 2nd December

Hermione groaned when her alarm went on. But she had no other choice than to wake up. If she wanted to go on so-called holidays with her friends she had to wake up now and work a little.

She opened the file she had been working on last night. She had to write a report about this weird accident and she still had no idea what might have happen. This case was frustrating. She had worked on it late on last night and she was tired. She decided to shower first and then come back to work on it.

At 5:30 she went to the Burrow where everyone was meeting. She was promptly hugged by the whole Weasley clan. She noted that she was the only one not belonging to the family or engaged to one of his member. Well at least she could hope for some quiet moment, by leaving all the others in a family moment.

The portkey was scheduled at 6 so Molly had prepared a snack breakfast for everyone. Hermione rejoiced at the sight of food. She did not eat well, preferring to work and it was a real pleasure to have a real breakfast for once.

When everyone was ready and the hour was approaching they all met in the living room and grab the table. As usual, Hermione felt the little stomach's twist that meant she was travelling.

It was still night when they arrived but the first thing that Hermione noticed was the silence. No car, no circulation, nearly no voice except the ones coming from her group. She felt peaceful for a short moment, before Ron took her by the arm. She was fighting playfully against him, when she saw the lantern approaching, guiding by the only Charlie Weasley. Suddenly she was afraid of what was going to happen. They had kissed but he had left so soon after that. And since then she barely thought about it and had never heard from him.

Charlie woke up feeling still groggy. Despite living in the reserve for years now, it was still hard for him to wake up. But today was a big day! His whole family came to visit him and he was quite impatient to see them all, especially Hermione. He looked at his alarm clock who proudly displayed 5am. He groaned. He was so thankful he had already sorted everything out. He quickly put some pants on and a big sweater before heading out. He met his friends outside and they began the 30minutes walk to the border of the reserve.

It was a silent walk. They were still tired and they knew that, with visitors coming, they would have more work. That was why not a lot of families were accepted on the reserve. But Charlie had worked for nearly ten years there and it was only fair that his family could visit him. They were a group of 5 friends each one with a lantern in order to see where they were walking.

They were rough men, all had scars but they were bounded by more than a friendship. They knew how to trust each other with their lives and that a created a strong bond between themselves. They began talking when they were near the border, the guys were making fun of Charlie.

It was only jokes and not really high ones but that was their friendship. He laughed with them, so that the first sight that Hermione grasps of Charlie was him laughing. He was grabbed by Molly, who hugged him tightly. He responded to her embrace and then proceeded to hug everyone while his friends were watching.

When he arrived at Hermione he hesitated a little. Hermione was watching him hesitantly, not knowing how to greet him. He then opted for hugging her too even if it was way more faster than with his family. He just greeted her by a "Hello Hermione" to which she answered "hey there Charlie".

It seemed that no one noticed their awkward moment and they did not bother look into each other eyes after that.

Hermione did not know what she expected. Charlie has hugged her like she was part of his family and she did not know if she was happy about it. Of course she liked being in his arms. Wait did she just think that? She cursed herself. She could not like being in his arm. She was just cold and his embrace was warm. That's why she liked it. That was all, nothing else. She tried to stir her thoughts by calming down a very happy Ginny.

Charlie was a bit confused. Why did he hug her when she looked so hesitant? Well at least she did not push him away. That was kind of great. And if he was not mistaken she blushed a little after she escaped his embrace so maybe he could have a little bit of fun with her during her stay.

He then turned to his friends and introduced them to his family. They all exchanged handshakes and he saw the looks his friends gave to Hermione and Ginny. Apparently Harry saw them too because he became suddenly closer to Ginny. That made him laugh.

But he had other things to do so he quickly managed to get everyone walking to the reserve after doing a scan of their belongings and themselves. On his way back he stayed with his mum and dad even if he would have liked to stay with his younger brother and a certain witch. But his dragon tamer friends wanted to talk to the famous Golden Trio so he let them.

It was a more joyful walk than the one before. He heard Ginny giggled numerous times and even Hermione laughed at some point. He was simply happy to be with his parents. And he could not stop the smirk plastered on his face when he thought about Hermione.

Hermione was happy when they finally reached what seemed like a village. In her luggage there were a lot of files just waiting for her. She needed to go back to work. So that after Charlie explained that they were all going to share one big house she was a bit defeated. So much for peace and relaxing ambiance she thought. But after Hogwarts she was very good at obliterating everything.

They agreed to unpack and then meet Charlie for a tour of the reserve one hour later, as the sun was rising. Hermione jumped on the occasion and after using a spell to unpack for her she began working immediately. She was sharing a room with Ginny and she managed to hold a conversation while working.

When the hour was finished, everyone was impatient to meet Charlie for the big tour. Everyone except Hermione, of course. First Ginny left the room after having beg with her to come, then Ron and Harry came to try to convince her to leave her work and finally Mrs. Weasley came too, trying to guilt her into following the group. But Hermione was unshakable. She had to work.

When Charlie arrived nearly everyone had tried to make her stop working but nobody actually succeeded. He was not happy to hear that. Hell he invited his family in order to see them not to have one of them staying in the house all day. He could understand that she wanted to work, he was dedicated to his job but this was a onetime opportunity. Not everyone has the right to enter in a dragon reserve. He was determined to make her come.

Hermione's paper was suddenly out of her hand. She looked up really angry and met Charlie's blue eyes. She sighed. Here we go again she thought.

"Hermione dear, I heard you did not want to come with us. Why?" Charlie had always be blunt. He was not going to change for her.

"I have to work Charlie dear" she said with as much sarcasm she could muster.

That angered Charlie to no end. She wanted to fight with him? Well then he could do it too. But first he needed her out of that house.

"Granger I know that you need to work and so do I. And I am not allowed to let you alone here. If you want I can hex you so that you can come or you can follow me and I will try to answer to every question you might have."

"That will not help me with my work" she commented, but she was beginning to be tempted. And the look he was giving her made chills runs on her spin. He looked a bit mad and Merlin he was a sight to see.

"I promised you after this tour you will have the whole afternoon to work. Please come. Don't force me."

He looked at her with puppy eyes and she could not resist anymore. So she took his hand and followed him to the living room. Everyone cheered when they saw her and she felt childish. Why everyone seemed to forget she had a job?

"So everyone now that we are all here, let's go" said a cheerful Charlie. He let go of her hand and link her arm with his and on the other side took his mother's arm. He smiled his most charming smile to Hermione and whispered in her ear "I told you I was going to explain everything. I need you to hear it. And I don't want you to escape". He then grinned at her and began speaking about the dragons the reserve was hosting.

After two hours of walking Hermione was relaxed and even enjoyed the sightseeing. Charlie was true to his promise, always answering her questions as best as he could. She could definitely see he was crazy about his job, just like she was. But she froze when she saw what the next part of their visit will be.

"There is no way I am going on a broom" she whispered to Charlie. He just grinned at her.

"This is the safest and easiest way to meet real life dragon in their natural habitat. If you really want to see what a dragon is just take one. I know you are not afraid of flying. I can assure you it's worth it. If it's not then I will let you work two days straight. No interruption except for meals. Does that sound right?"

She had no choice than to agree. But it was worth seeing the face of her friends when she grab a broom without hesitating. They had of course strict laws regarding flights but it was even more relaxing for Hermione. The brooms had a journey programmed in their core and so if you wanted you could just let them guide you.

And Charlie was right it really was a sight to see. They came close to a Chinese Fireball who was thankfully sleeping. When they finally reached the floor one hour later, everyone's eyes were sparkling.

They walked for another hour, seeing the nursery and so on. When they finally stopped for lunch it was one and everyone was hungry. Charlie was really happy because everyone seemed to enjoy the little tour. Even when he glanced at Hermione, he could see her smiling. They had lunch all together even if Mrs Weasley was kind of angry that someone cooked for them. She promised to do the dinner in order to compensate for it.

As soon as lunch was over, Hermione looked at Charlie. Noticing her staring, he nodded. She had agreed to go with him this morning if she could work and so he was letting her. He just hoped she would not be too mad when she learned they will have to work for the reserve.

Hermione was really happy during the whole tour but now that lunch was finished she just wanted to go back to her work. So when she saw Charlie nodding at her she nearly ran to her room. She found herself completely overwhelmed by work. During the tour she had received numerous owls and one even carried her daily flowers with a card. It was only written "heard you were in Romania for a few days. Hope to see you back soon". That made her smile but she soon dived into work.

Charlie had to leave his family for the afternoon, as he too had some work to do. But they were not left alone and everyone could find something to do according to what they like. Ron, Harry, George and Ginny played Quidditch with the Reserve's team, Molly went to see the kitchen, Arthur asked questions about the Muggles living in the area and Bill and his family went to have some alone time.

Afternoon was gone in a blink and they soon all gathered for dinner. They had decided during lunch to eat dinner with all the dragon tamers. Ginny even managed to drag Hermione without too much difficulty. Of course she brought one file with her so that she was reading and following a discussion at the same time during the whole dinner.

That might be why she nearly missed the fact that the following day, they were all going to the club. Ginny had convinced a non-so-hard-to-convinced Charlie that he could be fun for all of them to hang out with the dragon tamers. The hardest to convince had been Mrs. Weasley. She was still afraid, thinking her children were too young to go out like that. Hermione did not want to go but she did not think that would be a problem. If she was smart enough, and Merlin knew she was, they will not notice her absence.

Charlie liked Ginny's idea. First because he liked to go to the club and it had been a long time, secondly that will be the perfect occasion for his friends to get to know his family better and last but not least maybe he could steal a couple of dances with Hermione.

After the dinner was over, everyone get back to the house they were sharing and called it a night. Ginny tried to convince Hermione to go to the boy's room so that she could be with Harry but Hermione stubbornly refused. It was still early she could work a little bit. Finally Hermione decided to give up a little and created a new room where she could study while Ginny could invite Harry over. That's settled she resumed working. As she was exhausted she had to stop at midnight, her eyes were closing without warning and she yawned continuously. It had been a long day so she decided to sleep a bit more than usual and set her alarm at 7.

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><p><strong>Please tell me what you think, I hope you liked it<strong>


	3. Chapter 3 : 3rd December

Charlie woke up as usual, at 7am. He decided to go for a run as today he will not work, just spend some time with his family. He liked running, especially as this could save his life in dangerous situations. Working with dragons was a real though job and Charlie perfectly knew that he was lucky to never have been heavily injured.

As he was passing the house were his family was, he noticed that a room had been added and there was light in it. Curious, he decided to go there the Muggle-way. So he climbed to the window and had a pick inside. He prayed he would not see Ginny and Harry or Bill and Fleur in an embarrassing situation. He was relieved to see Hermione. He knocked lightly at the window.

Hermione was peacefully working, enjoying the silence and the beautiful view at her window. If there was one thing she could say about Romania, it was that he definitely was worth seeing. She was lost in a case when there suddenly was a knock at the window. She jumped, her wand ready. She felt proud of herself, she was still alert. She was reading to hex the person who scared her when she saw Charlie's face. She quickly opened the window and looked at him with wide eyes when he finished his ascension.

Seeing her lost expression, Charlie could not help but laugh.

"I was jogging when I saw light and a room I did not know. So I decided to investigate" he explained to a confused Hermione. "Why are you already up? Shouldn't you be sleeping like the rest?" He then took the time to assess the room. Of course she had been working.

"Why are you always working? Enjoy the holiday" he proposed

"That is easier say than done. You know I really should get back to work. I have to finish two reports today." She wanted him out that much was clear. But Charlie was not going out without a fight.

"Yeah better work a lot today so that you can really enjoy tonight." He said with a smile

"Well, I was thinking of not going there" she confessed shyly. She was afraid of his reaction. She knew he did not like that she was working so much, but he should understand her. She really liked her job. And she wanted to climb the ladder of success. He looked deeply in her eyes and saw her worry.

"I know why… But please… Do this for me" he pleaded with his eyes. He knew that, since the war ended, Hermione had never let her emotions free. He wanted her to have harmless fun. He wanted to hear he laugh without her frowning just after that. The war had taken her, Harry's and Ron's innocence but he wanted them to behave like normal teenager for once.

"I promise you only fun. Just going out with your friends. Enjoy the freedom. You are here on holiday. Party, have fun, enjoy your stay!" he tried to convinced her. She found him comical, he was trying to convince her to have fun and not once he suggested that she was some kind of freak always working. That pleased her. She was a bit tired of everyone looking at her, as if she was a monster because she liked to work.

Of course he understood her. He was the one that left his family because he was crazy about dragons. She took a look at him and she sensed her resistance melting like snow under the sun. She finally agreed to going.

Hearing her agreement, Charlie did something that surprised her: he took her in his arm and happily lift her. Then he crushed her in his arms before kissing her cheek. Finally he let go of her and whistling get out of the room.

Hermione was too shocked to go after him. She touched her cheek where he had kissed her. This holiday was so different from the one she had planned! And it was only her second day at the reserve. She smiled, lost in her thoughts. But if she wanted to go out tonight then she had to work.

So that is what she did, never stopping working. She did not even go out for lunch, even if she knew that would anger Mrs. Weasley. Ginny and Harry came with her lunch on a plate. They did not stay long because she had agreed to come with them at the club. They knew it was a huge victory and so agreed to not disrupt her for the whole day. They will have her the whole night and so they planned everything, so that she did not have to worry about anything.

Ginny shopped for dresses, while the guys agreed on the club and who was going to stay sober in order to apparate everyone back. Charlie volunteered. He really wanted to see his little brothers and his friends get drunk. On top of that he was the only one that knew everyone and so it will be easier for him to convince everyone to go with him.

When it was 7pm, Ginny took Hermione of her work. Hermione let her do whatever she wanted, only insisting that she did not want any make up. She did not know what she was expecting from this party but she sure did not want make-up. The last time she tried it, it had been at Bill's wedding and she did not want to revive the memory.

Thirty minutes later they were ready. When they met the boys downstairs, the whole crew of dragon-tamers whistled. As it was still early, they decided to have some drinks together before heading to the club.

Charlie eyed Hermione carefully. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. Hell, even Ron was looking at her in envy. And everyone knew nothing could ever happen between them. She gulped down one Firewhiskey without hesitating. That impressed Charlie. But when he saw her face just after she swallowed, he could not help but laugh.

She heard his laugh and turn to look at him. She smiled him a radiant smile before approaching him. He gulped, not knowing what she was going to do. Saying his reaction she giggled. She was going to speak to him, when suddenly a tipsy Harry took her by the arm and, without further warning, dragged her to the bar. According to him, one drink was not enough.

Charlie was frozen on his spot. What was she going to do? Well, he will never know now. He decided that it was maybe best for him to enjoy his time with his friends so he went to discuss with John, one of his fellow dragon-tamer.

Hermione was happy. Maybe it was alcohol induced, but she hasn't been this happy in ages. She was currently jumping everywhere with Ginny, when she spotted Charlie. She decided to have a little fun and jumped on his back, putting her hands on his eyes and asking:"Guess who?"

Charlie was talking with a little bit drunk George when someone jumped on his back. His eyes were soon hidden behind someone's hand. He would never dare to admit but he could recognize her just by her perfume. And the fact that he could feel her stature on his back did help him too. He quickly turned her so that she was now facing him. She giggled and said in a whisper that he was not fair, he had to guess who she was. He just laughed at her and she pouted.

She was more than beautiful and he found himself drowning in her brown eyes. He softly put some hairs behind her hair and rested his hand against her cheek. Her legs were on his hips and her arms embraced his neck. He felt the heart coming from her. His lips were killing him. He wanted to kiss her. But did she want it too? Or was it alcohol induced? He took a good look at her eyes, trying to read her mind. She was a bit tipsy as she did not sense what he was trying to do and just throw back her head and laughed. He was just mesmerized by her movements. He carried on scrutinizing her and when she finally felt his look on her she met his eyes. Her eyes seemed to read his mind and they stayed there, looking at each other, frozen for a few minutes. She smirked at him and simply said "Afraid to burn dragon tamer?"

He wanted to answer her, he wanted to kiss her so badly and she was closing the distance between them but he could not. He quickly detangled himself from her embrace and let her go. He was supposed to chaperone everyone, not having inappropriate thoughts about a certain brunette.

Hermione did not look affected by the whole incident, as she soon was doing a drinking game with George, Ron and a dragon tamer. Charlie still looked at her, desperate to do something. When they have been close, he really wanted to kiss her but now he was wondering if that was a good idea. After all she was his brother best friend and she was so young. If he wanted to kiss her, it should have been because he just wanted some action. That must have been the reason why, he tried to convince himself. So tonight, he will have fun with one girl and stop having strange desires for the rest of the holidays.

When they finally left for the pub, Hermione and Ginny were more than tipsy. Apparating with them at his arm was a bit more complicated than Charlie thought but he still managed.

When they entered the club, he let go of them. He was determined to find a girl and snog with her a little bit. He was too tensed for his own good. He found the perfect girl not five minutes after entering the club. She was tall, blonde and a lot of men wanted to have his attention. Charlie smiled, she was exactly was he was looking for. Without sparing a glance at Hermione, he began seducing the blonde.

It took him less than one hour to have his way. He always had his way around women and that just confirmed the theory of his fellow coworker. No woman could resist him. He had pinned her against a wall and was kissing her shamelessly when he heard a commotion.

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><p><strong>I would love to hear about you. What do you think is happening? Do you understand why Charlie is snogging another woman? How do you feel about it?<strong>

**And a huge thank you to dreamerqueen94 :)**


	4. Chapter 4 : 4th December

When his ears registered the sound, Charlie immediately tensed. He broke from the kiss and look for the disturbance. He froze when he saw nearly drunk Harry and Ron trying to fight off some strangers. Sensing that a sober person could help with the situation he went to inquire, leaving his poor conquest alone. Not that he really cared, he just wanted some action.

He was coming close to them when he spotted a scared and angry Hermione, hiding behind her two best friends. Charlie quickly assessed the situation. The guy must have tried something and Hermione was too drunk to really fight him off. That angered Charlie. Yes he had broken a lot of hearts when he was younger, and he still did. But he would never assault a woman.

This was a magical club, even if magic was forbidden in it for obvious reasons. But that did not bother Charlie who did not hesitate. He took his wand and quickly thrown a spell. The man that harassed Hermione was pushed to a wall and he fell unconscious.

That is when all hell broke loose. Having broken the interdiction it soon was a magical battle. But Charlie worked with dragons and he was sober. His reflexes were impressive and he managed to protect his friends and family while avoiding any spell coming to his direction, even friendly one. He was the only one not drunk so he had the better aim. It took him a dozen minutes but when he was finished all his opponents were down and all his friends were standing, as long as they could considering their drunken state.

He had been so focused on the battle that when it finished he was out of breath and quite surprised. It had been much more easier than he had thought. Now he had to deal with the aftermath but first he had to make sure all his friends were okay. One look at his colleagues and he knew they were alright. When you work with dragons on a daily basis, a little fight is nothing.

He spotted Ginny with Harry and they both nodded when they saw his glance. Ron had been stunned but Hermione was currently removing the spell. She had been amazing for someone so drunk. She had managed to stun some vicious guys that were trying to distract Charlie. If he had to bet he would never have said that she could have such a precise aim with that much alcohol in her body. Guess he was wrong.

But there were more pressing matters right now. Wherever he looked, Charlie could not find George. He began panicking. What will his mother say when he will tell her he lost one of her sons? She was going to kill him. Just thinking about it, his worry escalated.

He was looking frantically everywhere for his brother, when he spotted him going out of the bathroom. George took a glance at the room and said jokingly "Well some people had fun without me it seems"

With that simple sentence, the whole ordeal seemed much funnier and suddenly Hermione broke into fits of laughter. Charlie, even if he was amused, did not understand her behavior. She had been nearly abducted but she seemed to laugh about it.

"Well it seems that some dumb guy thought he could take advantage of me when I was drunk. I think we proved the contrary" she answered, after calming a bit. She then glanced around her with a more serious face, scowled and began repairing the damages they had done.

That was the end of the evening. Nobody wanted to stay longer than necessary. Charlie began apparating people back to the reserve. The last one was, of course, Hermione. She did not seem drunk anymore. Charlie looked at her, wanting to question her about earlier. She tilted her head and bite her lower lips.

"You want to know what happened right?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence. She seemed so unsure, it disturbed Charlie. He just nodded.

"Well, as you noticed I was quite drunk. I was dancing with Ron, Harry and Ginny, when some guy joined us. We did nothing about it because he seemed friendly. But when he understood that I wasn't with Ron, he tried to take me out. As I told him, I didn't want to follow him, he began being violent and thrown me back. That's when Harry and Ron tried to interfere. Thank you for helping. I was so scared they would get hurt."

That explained her scary look. She wasn't scared for herself but for them. He could understand why, they all had been drunk and Ron had always be prompt to fight. Besides who knew what could have happened? She looked at him, as if expecting an answer.

"You have nothing to thank me for. I should have been looking out for problems. But you managed quite well for someone in your state. I was impressed." Charlie felt ashamed. If he had been more focused this whole ordeal would never have taken place.

"For someone drunk you mean? Well I couldn't relax totally. Not after the last nine years." She sighed and Charlie knew what she meant. The war had a heavy toll on her, and being the serious person she was, she could not let go. "And besides I saw that you were quite busy" she added with a small smile.

So she had seen him with that girl. Maybe she was jealous? But right now he could not careless. The other might get suspicious if they stayed much longer so he grabbed her arm and asked her if she was ready. Then, he apparated her to the reserve. They all bid good night to each other before leaving.

Everyone was sleeping except Hermione. This night had been eventful. She did not know what to think about Charlie. Before going to the pub he had acted all flirty with her but when they arrived, he quickly found a girl. Not that it mattered anyways. She just wanted to be sure that nothing was going between their friendships. She sighed. If you can call that a friendship, she thought. She had to admit that she knew almost nothing about him. But she had no time to lose with human relationship. Her job was more important. And in order to do her job she had to sleep.

She groaned when she set up her alarm clock for 7am. She was not going to get a lot of sleep. But, even if a lot happened, she did enjoy herself so maybe it had been worth it. She fell asleep soon after that, too tired to think a lot.

When Hermione woke up, it was still night outside. Her head hurt because she was hangover but she quickly casted a spell and solve that matter. Then she went back to work. She had lost time yesterday by going out, so she had to work double if she wanted to stay on track. That is why she locked her door, allowing no one to enter. Numerous person, among them Mrs. Weasley and Charlie, tried to get in but she had put a silencing charm so that she could be truly undisturbed. Only owls from the ministry of magic were authorized to go in.

The only moment she left her work was when her daily flowers came. She snatched a vase and put some water in it before arranging the flowers so that it looked even more beautiful. She then happily went back to work.

Harry, Ron and Ginny found her behavior quite normal. There was used to see her work until she was exhausted. So that was a big surprise for them to see her going down the stairs at 8pm. They were getting ready to go to dinner, at the reserve's kitchen. She joined them and they did not question her motivations. They did not even had to bother because she willingly offered an explanation.

They were here for holidays and she knew she was ruining the mood by always working. That is why she wanted to always have dinner with them and maybe stay a little after dinner. They were all happy to hear about that. It had been too long since they had been together for long. And even if they understood why she was like that, it was good to see that she still cared about them.

The dinner was eventless even if Hermione received a lot of hugs from the Weasley family when they spotted her. It was during dessert that Charlie decided to do his big announcement.

"As you all know, our beloved Richard and Janine, directors of the reserve, are retiring in two months. They used to manage all of us and so they decided that, in order to make a smoother change, I will be the person in charge of new dragon-tamers."

Loud cheers escaped the Weasley's family and his friends. But he knew some will find this decision unfair or might question his authority, so he added

"That does not mean that I will be the next director. Just that, they trust me enough to run the dragon tamers smoothly, so that when the new director is elected, I can help him in his routine."

That being said, he sat down, where everyone went to congratulate him. Molly had tears in her eyes. She had never been a big fan of him working with dragons, but seeing how he was happy and the best in his field, brought her more joy than she thought possible. For Charlie everything was a blur, he was in his own bubble. It was only when he saw Hermione approaching that he came out of his little world. He had to tell her what they were discussing during lunch. But that could wait for a bit longer.

The evening was pleasant, everyone enjoying each other presence. Charlie was more than happy to see his whole family so at ease with his friends. Of course his mother was still mumbling about most of their outfit, but when you work with dragons you only think about protection not beauty.

It was only when they were going to bid goodbye that Charlie remembered he had to talk to Hermione. He grabbed her by the arm, as he saw her passing by.

"Hermione, I have something to tell you. I hope you won't be mad"

"If you're going to say that I work too much, I'm sorry but I won't change" she said sternly. If another person was going to tell her that she was not sure she could refrain from killing him or her.

"Well not exactly… You see you are staying as the reserve for free…" Charlie was hesitant and Hermione did not like it a bit. That's why she decided to cut him off

"Just spill the beans Charlie" that sure surprised him as he jumped a little.

"Ok. In exchange for your free stay the reserve's directors asked if you could put some simple work. Everyone already chose an assignment." He could definitely see that Hermione was furious. She did not need to speak, her eyes were throwing daggers at him. Her fists were clenched and her whole body screamed that she was utterly mad.

"Calm down Hermione. You will have a fast task. We all agreed that your task should be quick." He sensed her relax at his words. Now was his second revelation. "But it won't be an easy one." She glared at him, waiting for an explanation. "Well, the reserve is protected thanks to wards. Inside the reserve's wards there are other wards in order to protect us from the dragons. Your job will be to help renew the wards every morning"

"That's not an easy task at all. And I believed those were hard spells that needed more than one person to be successful." Hermione did not think when she said that. She mentally sighed. He was going to think she was a bookworm, a know-it-all. She braced herself, ready for the insults he was surely going to throw at her.

"Wow. I see that you already know a bit of theory. That's great! I will be so much easier. I didn't expect less than you. So yes, you will have a partner" She was quite surprised by his reaction but Merlin it made her happy.

"And who might that be?" she asked, wondering which wizard was powerful enough to do it.

"Well, me" he answered truthfully. He had done this since he arrived at the reserve, being one of the most advanced in charms. Usually he did it with Richard, the director. But when his boss heard that the famous Hermione Granger was going to the reserve, he decided that he wanted to see her in action. And what better way for her to show her talent, than do the most complicated spell?

His answer stunned her. She was far from expecting that. But then she knew nothing about Charlie so that shouldn't have surprised her that much. She was surprised to find that she was actually glad that Charlie was this good at Charms. That meant he would maybe not see her as a freak.

They discussed a bit more and agreed to meet at 7 the next morning in order to do the wards. Afterwards they went their separate way, wondering how the morning will turn out.

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><p><strong>What do you think about the commotion at the bar ? Charlie's promotion ? <strong>


	5. Chapter 5 : 5th December

Hermione woke up at 6 :30. She was so tired, it hurt to go out of her bed. She quickly looked outside, where a thermometer was hanging. It was minus 2, so she grabbed her biggest sweater, her scarf, gloves and her winter coat. She was going to stay outside for at least one hour and she could not waste her magical energy by throwing a heater charm.

She smiled when she saw Charlie, waiting for her outside. The air was crispy and she was glad she had brought her big wool scarf. Charlie smiled when he saw her snuggle in her warm clothes. They walked in a comfortable silence for fifteen minutes before Charlie stopped.

Hermione was lost in her thoughts, looking with awe at the beautiful landscape. Even if it was night, Romania sure had some charm.

"Ok we will begin here. I hope that you are familiar with the protection charms I'm about to cast." He quickly said a few spells and Hermione did them after him. That wasn't really hard charms but if they had to do it for the whole reserve, Hermione knew she would be exhausted.

After doing that in five other places distant of 50 meters, Charlie stopped another time but this time it was in front of a little cabin. He quietly went inside and Hermione was surprised to see a real breakfast in front of her. There was even her favorite tea. Charlie mentioned for her to sit before he began talking.

"I supposed that you will not have eaten so I took the liberty to prepare breakfast. Now, I would like to hear me out." He then began explaining her which charms they will have to put. The first ones they did were just basics so that he could see her potential and her strength. He was glad to find that she was indeed strong enough to do what was required.

When Charlie finished saying all the charms they had to put, Hermione began asking questions. She did not understand why they did not use one of the most powerful protection charms. He softly explained her that the Romanian regulations did not allow them to use some charms as they were deemed inappropriate. That made Hermione curious but they really had to go back to work so she did not say anything, promising herself that if she ever had time she would look into it.

When they finished their breakfast, they went back to work. They worked in silence, not yet comfortable with each other. It took them 30minutes to finish the first part of the reserve and Hermione could feel her magical core being drained.

When Charlie mentioned to her that they had finished the first part she could not resist asking him what the others were doing.

"Well, I tried to give every one something that was in their field. For example Percy is helping us to sort all the papers from this year. Ginny, Ron and Harry have to fly over certain parts because we want them devoid of any dragon. If they see one they have to alert us as soon as possible. Mom is, of course, cooking dinner. Dad is looking for Muggle stuff that could help us. George is helping at the infirmary. We need a lot of potions and he has a gift to create efficient potions. Bill and Fleur are working in the nursery. Baby dragons are really rare and special. I think they are the most responsible ones and they are more used to babies than the others."

"You really thought about it didn't you?" Hermione was surprised. Everyone had a job that fits perfectly his personality.

"I really love working here. This is my home. If my family is here I want them to help it being a better place." He answered truthfully. He hoped she would understand what he meant. Hermione felt at ease with him. Even if their jobs were so different, they both had the same passion. They carried on talking for the whole hour after that. They had much more in common than they thought.

Hermione felt like someone could finally understand her. Charlie wasn't freaked out by the fact that she read so much or work all day long. In the contrary, he was doing the same with dragons. The only subject they were disagreeing on was quidditch. Charlie loved quidditch whereas Hermione thought it was one more stupid game.

"Can I ask you a rather stupid question Hermione?" asked Charlie, caution incarnated for once. After she mentioned that she was okay he dropped his question. "Do you think you are afraid of flying because you are a Muggle?"

"That's a very good question. But I think it's mostly because you don't seem to be aware of how dangerous it is." She answered truthfully. She never thought that the fact that she was a muggle could explain it, you just had to look at Harry to know that it could not explain everything, but he was right maybe that was part of her fear.

"I can assure you that the majority knows that it is really dangerous. But so is magic when you think about it." Charlie's argument made sense. But Hermione was still a bit afraid, she had seen Harry getting hurt too many times to be okay with the idea of flying. "Hey would you like to try to learn flying a broom? That could be a great surprise for everyone!" Charlie was excited at the thought. He was sure she could do it. She had good reflexes and he was pretty certain that she could be a good chaser if she wanted to try.

"I don't know Charlie, I really need to work." Hermione was hesitating: she did not want to look afraid even if she was.

"Come on Hermione. It is good to exercise you know! And if you do well before you go back to England I could take you close to a dragon. A peaceful one don't worry" he added, saying her distress look. Hermione was thoughtful for a moment. She really wanted to see a dragon from close.

"Ok. But you have to promise to not make fun of me" she added when she saw a big smile emerged on his features. Charlie reassured her that he was never going to mock her. He knew what it felt like when people laughed at you. He used to be teased because he was a redhead and he wanted to be a dragon tamer, a job considered as worse than waiter in the magic community.

They decided to begin immediately as they just had finished putting the wards.

"Okay, I watched you during our little sightseeing tour and you did pretty well on guided brooms. So maybe we could try something simple such as going to that bush of trees over there?" he wanted to do it slowly, in order to not scare her. She knew what he was doing and she was grateful. He did not say anything when she did not get higher than a few feet from the ground. Taking slow steps was the best way to overcome her fear.

When they decided it was enough for one day it was already 9:30. But Hermione felt proud of herself. Even if she did not hover more than a few feet from the ground she now felt confident to turn and even go a bit faster. She thanked Charlie and without thinking hugged him.

Time seemed to freeze for both of them. Hermione could beat herself up for being so stupid. Why in the earth did she hug Charlie? And why did it feel so good to feel him around her? She felt his warm spread around her and she could smell his very special odor: a mixture between burn, leather and sweat. She loved his smell she realized.

Charlie was more than shocked. She was hugging him! And Merlin did he feel good to have her in his arm, her chest slightly pressed on his. He was a bit much taller than her so he had his face in her hair. She smelled divine. It surprised him when he thought that he did not want this moment to end. She detangled from his embrace too quickly for his taste so he did something to have her close to him a bit more: he took her arm and kiss her left cheek.

Of course she was blushing because of what he did. But he could not see it as he was a bit ashamed of himself. They quickly parted ways and went back to their own work after that.

It was only for dinner that they met again and they stayed awkwardly near each other during the whole meal. Hermione had no other choice than to sit beside him when she arrived at dinner not that she was very comfortable with that.

She did not know what to do anymore. He had been with another girl two days before. But they had this special connection, at least she liked to think so. She could feel the warmth radiating from him and she was blushing every time he moved a little.

Charlie could see her blushing and that made him smile a little. At least he was not the only one uncomfortable here. He caught the look of one of his colleague, Alexander, asking him silently to come over. He managed to extract himself, not without brushing his legs on Hermione by mistake. They both deeply blushed at that but, as they did not look at each other, neither said anything.

Charlie finally came to Alexander and they both went outside to have a private conversation.

"That's a beautiful brunette you got there Char" stated Alexander with a wicked grin.

"I don't have her, Alex" Charlie did not like Alexander one bit. Since they both arrived, they had been fighting for girls and tried to prove that they were better than the other. Charlie being promoted to manager of the dragon tamer only angered Alexander.

"Then I think I will try a bit of her. She looks absolutely delicious." Alexander said, licking his lips. Charlie really had to fight for control. He wanted to punch him so bad. But he knew that was what he wanted. If they fought Charlie would be retrograded to a simple dragon tamer.

"I don't have her and nobody has her. She won't let you." stated Charlie in a clear voice. He decided not to carry on this stupid conversation they were having and went back inside. He did not like to think about what Alexander said. He had to do something about it, to warn Hermione.

He waited until dinner was finished to ask her if they could have a talk. Hermione did not know what to think. Was he going to tell her he liked her? After all he had been slightly flirting with her since she was here. But he had been with that girl two days ago. What did he want?

Charlie took her outside the tent they were eating in and they walked a bit in silence before he broke the silence when they arrived near the lake that was in the middle of the reserve.

"Hermione, I know it is not my place to say that but I had a very disturbing conversation with Alexander during dinner" he said in one breath. He so did not want to do it. He knew she was going to be mad. But he preferred a mad Hermione to a sexually assaulted one.

"Is everything alright? Is it because of the wards we put this morning? Were they not strong enough?" she was beginning to worry and was breathing fast.

"Don't worry you did fine. More than fine even" he added with a smile. Richard, the director, had been impressed by the charms. And for the first time in a month they was not sign of someone breaking through the wards. "It's just that… How can I say that? First you have to forgive me. I will be very blunt." He looked her straight into the eyes, waiting for her approval. When she finally nodded he carried on speaking "Alexander told me he would try to make a move on you. Please don't let yourself be fooled by him. This guy is one of the worst I have ever encounter"

"Then you must be a pretty lucky fellow. I think Voldemort was far worse" she answered angered. Who did he think he was? The worse he had even encounter? She had fought Death Eater when she was 16 for Merlin's sake! And she had been tortured and here he was Charlie Weasley thinking a poor dragon tamer was the worse guy on earth? He had to be joking.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I just want you to be careful." He was trying to calm her but that did not work at all.

"Yes because I am known for being careless. Who do you think I am? I am not a stupid teenager! You should be careful Charles Weasley."

"Hermione I just don't want you to get hurt!"

"Then you are too late." Her voice was stern and that frightened Charlie more than everything she said before. He did not know what exactly happened during their Horcruxes hunt but he could guess.

"I am sorry. I just want you to be safe while you are here…" His apologies stunned her. She was so used to fight with Ron who get angry easily that she found herself looking at him stupidly. Not bearing the awkwardness she mumbled

"I guess having dragons nearby is not the best then". It surprised Charlie so much than he could not help but laugh. She soon followed him. When they finally calmed down, Charlie looked at her, put his arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear

"I am deeply sorry Hermione. I know that you went through a lot and it was stupid of me. Please forgive me." A vibrant smile appeared on her face.

"Of course I forgive you. I was stupid too. Thanks for warning me, I will be careful." Charlie smiled too, happy that they did not really fight. He had to remember it was Hermione Granger he was talking to and not some other stupid girl.

"Well if that is settled why don't we enjoy the view? I know some stories about this part of Romania if you want" proposed Charlie. When she nodded he transformed a rock into a bench and accioed some tea for them. They then sat comfortably and he told her some legends.

Charlie saw that Hermione had trouble keeping her eyes open so he asked her if she wanted to go home and have some sleep. She frowned at the thought.

"You are a very good story teller Charlie, I really want to hear more" she said. Even if she was tired it was really interesting, learning about Romania a very powerful place. There was a lot of inexplicable phenomenon there and even Muggles called this place magic.

"You know that you are going to hear more tomorrow?" he asked. They had decided to discover Romania this week end and so Charlie planned to tell them some legends. She seemed still interested and looked at him with big puppies eyes.

"Okay but only if you don't fall asleep on me. " he replied with a big grin. She just laughed, knowing that she always had trouble falling asleep. After one more hour of stories it seemed that she was wrong as she was softly sleeping.

Charlie smiled at her sleeping form. She looked so relax. He was glad she had heard him out and most of all he was glad she was not mad at him anymore. But he could not let her sleep on this bench. Deciding that using magic was not really good in this situation, he opted for carrying her in his arms.

She was light and he could not fight the wide grin that crossed his feature when he felt her scouting closer to him. He walked to the house where she was resting, and silently went to her room. He tried to put her on her bed smoothly and he was proud she did not wake up. He stared a few seconds at her and decided to act on impulse. He brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. He then apparated to his house where he tried to find sleep even if he could only think of her. He was wondering how the week end will turn out.

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><p><strong>This is the longest chapter I have ever written, I hope you like it. What did you think about their fight ? Please tell me if you are interested in reading more as I still have to write it and I feel like no one is interested in it...<strong>


	6. Chapter 6 : 6th December

Hermione was sitting on the bench near the lake when Charlie apparated at her side. She smiled, happy to see him and hugged him. He surprise her by whirling her around. She was laughing, enjoying being carefree for a few seconds. When he let her touch the ground he did not let go of her. Instead he brought her even closer to him and lifted her chin so that his lips could touch hers.

Hermione was tensed. Was he really going to kiss her? She stared into his big blue eyes and found herself lost. They held so many emotions. She closed the distance between their lips without thinking. When they finally collided it was as if a fire burnt through her. Waves of electricity flooded from him to her. She was in heaven. His lips were rough, just like she remembered. She shuddered, he made her feel safe. Here, in his warm embrace, she could finally relaxed even if her whole body was completely alive.

He opened his mouth and she took advantage of his exposure to explore his mouth. They battled a bit for dominance but everything was fine by her. She just did not want this kiss to ever finish. His arms engulfed her, his left hand being on her waist. It felt so good she was almost moaning. It was even better than the kiss they shared on New Year's eve.

His right hand went under her shirt, feeling the skin of her stomach. She shuddered at his touch. His calloused hand felt like silk on her smooth skin. Goosebumps began showing on her arms. She was in heaven, not wanting to ever let go of him. She snuggled closer to him and he responded by pressing her more into his chest.

Suddenly she heard a laugh. But not just any laugh. Her laugh. Bellatrix's laugh. It was not possible she was dead! She was in the Malfoy's manor again and instead of Charlie warm embrace it was Bellatrix hovering over her, her back being on the floor. She screamed when she felt the knife penetrating her soft skin. She felt the tears coming to her eyes, she heard Bellatrix's mad laugh, she felt the pain in her arm. She screamed.

And suddenly she woke up. Her eyes met Harry's, Ron's and Ginny's worried eyes. She exhaled. It had all been a bad dream. At least the end she added internally. Her friends were looking at her, wanting to ask questions. She just told them: "bad dream, Malfoy's manor" and they understood. Harry and Ron paled at the memory. They all hugged her and stayed a bit speaking with her until she relaxed.

They left her and went back to sleep but not before promising to be there if she had any problem. As Hermione was trying to fall back asleep she heard something knocking at her window. Her wand drawn, she approached the window. She opened it and saw Charlie but right now she was in paranoid mode. So she asked him a few personal questions. When he finally managed to answer all of them she relaxed.

Charlie did not understand why she was asking so many questions but when he saw her relaxed he guessed she had just been cautious. But he had to explain why he was there. After all it was only 4am, not a decent hour to pay a visit, as his mother would put it. But she had to go out with him. It was the first snow and he wanted to share it with her. When he told her, his reasons for coming tonight, she quickly grabbed her biggest sweater and without even realizing she still was wearing her pajama she followed him outside.

She could feel the magic in the air. It was extremely cold and seeing her shivering Charlie quickly cast a warming spell on her. She smiled gratefully. She looked up at the sky and then at Charlie. He laughed when he saw her face, she was so comical.

"It didn't start yet but it will soon snow don't worry. I know what I'm doing" he stated, his voice slow and calm. Ten seconds after he finished speaking the first snowflakes began dropping.

She giggled happily and began running under the snow. She looked like a child and Charlie could not help but wonder when the last time she was so careless and happy was. She sent a look his way and he began chasing her. They were running and spinning like mad children. And during the whole playful chase they were laughing. They laughed so much, Hermione fall on the ground. Charlie tried to prevent her from hurting herself but he only managed to fall too. He froze as he found himself just on top of Hermione.

She was so close, he was not sure he could resist kissing her then and there. The cold had put some colors on her cheeks and her nose was a bit red. Her hair was splashed around her hair and snow was mixing with it. Her brown eyes were shimmering with happiness and as they met his eyes he could see a bit of lust. But he could not indulge himself right? There was no way in Hell that she could possibly want him. He was far too old for her. But he was still mesmerized by her happy face.

He could feel her between his legs and was a bit uneasy feeling his excitement growing. Her breath's fumes ran along his jaw every time she breathed out. It was the perfect romantic situation but he could not move. He was fascinated by her, the way she managed to be beautiful without even trying. He was intently looking at her for what seemed hours but was only seconds.

As he finally thinking of kissing her, she thrown back her head and giggled. That totally broke the mood for him. He kissed her nose and rolled next to her. They stayed like that, just watching the snow falling for at least 30minutes before Hermione spoke.

"Thank you Charlie, it is wonderful." He could hear that she was sincere. But he could not help himself but inquire.

"Why do you thank me? I did nothing"

"You did a lot of things. Since I arrived you managed to give me time to work but also enjoy my stay. And this by far the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Thank you so much" she looked at him and he could see that her smile was not faked. That she was truly happy to be there, that made him rejoice in the inside. He wanted her to enjoy her stay.

"I'm sure you would have done the same for me Hermione"

"Oh no I will not even have noticed you existed. I only work this days." She did not seem cheerful anymore" Don't get me wrong. I love my work. It's just that suddenly I think I understand why all my friends told me I was working too much." She looked at him, worried "But you understand why I work so much, don't you?" She was nearly pleading him

"Of course I do. After all I left my family and England for my job. But I learned that I had to come back to them once in a while. It helps" he said matter of factly.

"See that's why I thank you?" She giggled. "Come on I want to build a snowman!" She stood up and took his hand.

They stayed up until six and then they decided to put the wards and try to catch some sleep after that. During all that time they spoke happily about their jobs, Hogwarts and everything they could think of. That's how Hermione learned that Charlie's birthday was on December the 12th. She decided internally that she will throw a big party in order to thank him. She just had to talk with his family.

After napping a little, Hermione went to the lounge where everyone was getting ready. Today they were going to visit Dracula's castle and tomorrow they will be going on a hike where a guide will tell them the history of the country both magical and Muggle. Hermione could not wait to learn more about it, she knew roughly that Romania had a troubled past but she wanted to know more.

They all awed when they saw that he had snowed during the night. The hike to the borders of the reserve took them 45 minutes instead of 30minutes usually. Sometimes Hermione wished they could just apparated to their meeting point but Charlie had told her it was impossible. They were allowed to apparated only in a 2km radius from the reserve. After that they had to go to the border and then they could take a portkey. Of course it was forbidden to apparated near the reserve border and then use a portkey. It was all a question of security. Dragons parts were wanted all around the world and the reserve was one of the biggest in the world. That's why they put wards, in order to protect the magical beasts.

Hermione noticed he looked worried when he said that but she decided to not push him. She just wanted to enjoy and not get into trouble. They were just getting to know each other and she felt like she had no right to ask him what was preoccupying him.

They were divided into two groups for the visit: Hermione was with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Fred and Angelina, who joined them just this morning, whereas Charlie was with the rest of the Weasley family.

They all had a great time even if the whole vampire story made them internally laugh. They had decided to visit Dracula's castle the Muggle way and so they made fun of Muggle's belief. As wizards they all knew how vampires truly were. But all in all it just made them more impatient for the next day.

Hermione managed to have a talk with Molly during dinner and they agreed to meet on a more discreet place on Monday in order to prepare everything for Charlie's birthday.

* * *

><p>At the same time, in Bucarest in a room with dim light a black dressed man entered.<p>

"Everything is ready, sir." Said the black man

"Perfect. Do they suspect anything?"

"They are too preoccupied by a miserable thief to notice something is wrong."

"What about the war heroes?"

"Potter and Weasley are too stupid to figure out that they might be in danger."

"And the Mudblood girl?"

"I feared she could be a problem. But she is too caught up with one boy. She won't be a problem."

"Then we will set the plan in action tomorrow."

"As you want sir"

"Go now. And don't mess this or you know what will happen…"

Before leaving the room, the black dressed man looked at his chief but caught only a glimpse of blond platinum hair.

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><p><strong>Tada ! I decided to put a little more action in the story! Hope you like it, especially the dream and the snow part :) <strong>

**Reviewing makes me write better stories :)**


	7. Chapter 7 : 7th December

The night was set on Romania. In the reserve, the silence was not disturbed. Everybody was asleep. It was the perfect time to begin the attack. Without further hesitation the man in black led the attack against the wards. He knew that the wizard in charge had changed but they were still weak for someone like him. He managed to bring them down in a matter of minutes. Now the fun was about to begin, he thought.

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><p>Hermione was having a blissful sleep when someone screamed her name and nudged her shoulder. She woke up instantly, her wand ready. Her eyes immediately met Ginny's.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked, not bothering to be polite after the rough wake up.

"What's going on? You are late that is what's going on! We are all waiting for you" Ginny exclaimed, not believing Hermione had no idea what the problem was.

"I am late? That's not possible! I am never late! It's only…" she glanced at her alarm clock " 9?! How come? I went to bed at midnight!" she did not understand how she could not hear her alarm.

"I think you overslept. But come on you have to hurry! Charlie will arrive in a few minutes!"

Hermione immediately jumped of her bed, catching the first clothes she found in her wardrobe. Ginny sighed when she saw that.

"When are you finally going to act on your beauty Mione? You truly are beautiful but you are hiding it behind ugly clothes"

"It's not ugly clothes, that is called comfortable clothes. And I don't want to be seen as beautiful but as efficient. In my job the beauty doesn't count."

"That doesn't mean you have to hide. You have an anonymous admirer you should please him!" Stated a very convinced Ginny. She had seen how every day Hermione received a flower bouquet and she was determined to discover who was behind it. "Come on, tomorrow we could go Christmas shopping and I could help you find some suits! What do you think?"

"I can't tomorrow I promised your mother I would help her organizing Charlie's birthday…" Seeing Ginny pouting, Hermione quickly added "But we can go on Tuesday if you want"

Ginny smiled, happy to have her way with Hermione. They then went down just as Charlie came to their house.

They were going for a whole day of hike so it took them quite a few times before actually managing to find everything they needed. Luckily Charlie knew where they could borrow hiking shoes and had prepared sandwiches for every one of them.

It was 10 when they finally began the walk to the border of the reserve. Hermione was enthusiastically talking with Percy and his girlfriend when she noticed that Charlie ha stopped walking and wore a big frown.

She quickly went to stand by him and asked him what was wrong. He simply answered "the wards" but she did not understand him. She had checked and they were still in place.

"What's wrong with them?"

"They are not done the way we do them. I think someone broke the wards and put them back" Charlie was afraid. If someone really did what he thought it did then they were in deep trouble.

"Come on Charlie, you can't sense that kind of things. Why would anyone loose so much time putting the wards down and then putting them back up? On top of that, how do you know they are not different because it wasn't the regular person that put them?"

Charlie let himself be convinced by her arguments, even if he could feel in his guts that something was wrong, and they ran to join the other. They spend the rest of the morning comfortably talking. The hike was over the mountains on the north-east part of Romania.

The view was wonderful and Hermione could not stop awing in delight. Strangely being on a hike brought her closer to Harry and Ron. They had stayed close after the war but they all felt that their relationship was losing up a little bit as time flew.

Being in Romania together was the best thing that could happen to their friendship. After the war they had a hard time coping with everything but they had held to each other and through a long work with psychiatrics, Hermione's idea, they had come to term with some of their issues.

They decided to go a bit behind everyone else. Ginny understood that they needed some time together and so she went with Charlie. She had not really seen him that much since the beginning of their stay and she was quite happy to have him alone for herself.

Hermione was delighted to be alone with Harry and Ron. She felt like a bad friend for always working and not giving them as much attention as she used to be. So she asked them to forgive her for her behavior.

"You have nothing to apologize for 'Mione and you know that. We are friends with you and if we can't understand that you are hard-working and dedicated to your job then we are the stupidest best friends ever" said Ron convincingly. Hermione was pretty sure he used the word stupidest just to anger her. Saying her disgust face made harry laugh.

"You know we are grateful to have you as a friend and well , if you want to hang out more with us we will be happy." Added Harry, wanting to make her feel comfortable.

"Aren't we cute?" added Ron, wanting to make them laugh. And it worked, that pushed them over the edge and they were freely laughing.

Hermione was glad they weren't mad at her. Her work was really important to her, but now she understood that they only wanted to be with her. She decided that right now was maybe the best time to tell them her inner turmoil. She was going to speak when they were interrupted.

They had just finished climbing the last mountain and the view they had in front of them took their breath away.

"If I had knew Romania was this beautiful I would have been more insistent about coming her" said a joyful Harry.

Hermione was happy to see that he did not have any problem anymore talking about the Horcruxes' hunt. It had been a really difficult time for all of them but especially for Harry. Saying him joke about it made her realize that they had finally rediscovered their innocence. Of course they were still affected by the war, she had been dreaming about the Malfoy Manor just the day before, but now when they were in a happy mood they could actually make fun of all the miseries that happened to them.

"I'm not sure Ron would have loved it there. There is even less mushrooms than in England" she answered jokingly. Seeing his disgusted face Harry laughed even more.

It felt good to be back to their usual self. Harry felt like since their first year they had always been some kind of tension, not between them but around them. They always had to fight Voldemort or Death and, even if that made them stronger, it also worried him that this was the funding of their friendship. When he wanted to leave for the Horcruxes he was glad to have them with him. Even if when Ron left it hurt him more than he could ever say. But all in all it helped them to become stronger.

Hermione promised them that she would at least come to the weekly lunch at the Burrow when they come back. And she also promised to not work at all on the 24th and 25th. She wanted to enjoy her stay and she was beginning to realize that there was a difference between loving her job and not live outside it.

Their beautiful hike was interrupted when Charlie's wand vibrated. He was needed at the reserve. He glanced around and met the eyes of all his family. They were all supportive and began apparating next to the border of the reserve. Charlie was afraid and so he could not bear to walk 30minutes before knowing why he was needed. He accioed a broom and went off flying before anyone could react.

Hermione decided to take matter into her own hands. There was no way she was going to fly straight after him. None of them knew a damn thing about dragons. If Charlie had been called it had to be something very important and she did not want them to encounter any dragon. Without Charlie they were defenseless and she was mad that he did not think that they were in danger.

Just as this thought reached her mind Charlie's patronus, a crocodile, appeared. He told them to stay where they were and asked them to put as much wards as possible around their group. He was going to get them when everything was clear.

Of course Harry and Ron wanted to go and help Charlie but Hermione's hard stance kept them in place. It was not because they were war heroes that they knew everything. She had faith in Charlie, if he thought the best for them was to stay there then they had to stay there. She quickly asked Harry and Ron to put the same wards they had put daily during their seventh year. Whereas Percy, Bill and her were putting bigger protections.

Ginny and Fleur were trying to calm down a very upset Victoire and Arthur was preoccupied by Molly. She was angry and afraid her son was going to get hurt. She still wasn't used to the fact that he was a dragon tamer. When Harry and Ron finished putting the charms, Hermione added a spell so that Charlie, and only him, could see them when he came back. She then proceeded to remember every one of the Aguamenti charms.

They decided that if something was coming at them, Bill, Percy, his girlfriend, Fleur and Victoire had to run to safety. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the first line of attack and if they fell they all had to flee as fast as possible. They decided that their meeting point would be the Shell Cottage as it still had the protections they used during the war.

They stayed tense for half an hour and Hermione was nearly really to launch a scout group when Charlie finally came back. He looked exhausted. Of course his family pressed him with questions.

"There had been a breach in the wards. We don't know how but someone entered the wards. We feared that it is the thief we have been tracking for a few days. Last time he stole a vial of blood. That is the first time that he managed to stay in the reserve for such a long time. Usually the wards put him out after an hour. Who knows what he could be doing right now?"

Seeing him so distress Hermione did the only thing she could think of.

"What can we do for help? You know we are not leaving you in this situation. The reserve will need as much persons as possible."

"Before you accept anything, you have to know that this man will be very dangerous. If he is willing to steal dragon's parts then he is ready to take out a whole dragon. And nothing could stop him. No reasoning. Dragon's thieves are rough persons, and they are ready to do anything to come to their end."

Charlie looked expectedly at his family. He nodded at Bill and Fleur. They could not risk putting Victoire in danger. They had been willing to do it for the war because it would shape the world but right now their help, even if it would have been appreciate, would have been a too hard burden. If something ever happened to any of them, Charlie was going to resent himself for the rest of his life. Bill, Fleur and Victoire were the only one to back down. Charlie was proud to see that his family's members were ready to endanger their life for helping him.

They quickly came with a plan. Bill and Fleur wanted to stay on the reserve so that if their help was really needed they could join. As Charlie was afraid for his parents he asked them to guard the house were Victoire and her parents would stay. The rest would come with him.

They had to search the whole reserve, in order to find the thief. The dragon tamers were going to protect each dragon. It was more important to protect them and the samples than find the thief yet. That's why the dragon tamers were divided into pairs and each sent to guard a dragon. As they were an uneven number it was decided that Charlie was going to work with Hermione. After all she was a war heroin and brightest witch. Harry and Ron were teamed up to protect all the dragon's samples.

Ginny, George, Angelina, Percy and his girlfriend were divided into two groups and had to search for the thief. They quickly dispatched and began waiting.

They were all nervous. Of course they had seen worse. But that did not mean that it was easier to cope with the fear. If one of them was injured, Charlie could not forget himself. He was currently guarding one of their Norwegian Ridgeback. It was a pretty old fellow and even if he still had some fire in him, Charlie wasn't sure he could properly defend himself. He was glad that Hermione was with him. At least he could ensure her safety.

Two hours passed and they had no new except the occasional "everything is in order" from the others. Hermione was still on edge. She was ready and never let her guard down. She had learned that one stupid mistake could cost them a life. They had been lucky so far but she wasn't going to risk anything because she had let her mind wander. The night had fallen long ago and they were seeing only because they had put magical lights everywhere around the cavern where the dragon slept.

They were both patrolling near the dragon, on their broom. Hermione was glad she had become a bit more confident those last days so that she did not have to be too worried about being on a broom. She could actually concentrate on the task at hand.

Suddenly Hermione caught sight of a shadow lurking behind a tree. She never had time to warn Charlie. He was stunned before she had a chance to react. She immediately went on total focus. She cast a spell in order to lay Charlie softly on the ground and she quickly deflated her opponent's attack.

A magical duel began. Her opponent was still hiding behind a tree and she could only see his dark silhouette. She decided to use her broom as an advantage. She began circling fast around the tree her enemy was using. But she wasn't used to fight on a broom and her opponent was vicious. She could not throw spells while flying in circle so she had to dodge every spell he send her way. Every time she lost contact with him as she had to be careful, not to go straight into a tree.

She was looking for him, he seemed to have disappeared. She knew this was bad and decided to gain some altitude to cover more field. As she was gaining heigh,t she heard "Incarcerous". She fell from her broom and the magical ropes did not allow her to move. Her wand had fallen five feet from her and she knew she had to act fast if she wanted to survive this encounter.

Her opponent was coming to her at a fast pace. She froze for a few seconds when she saw his face… It was Scabior.

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><p><strong>Hope you like it ! I am sorry if there is any mistake but I was writing in a rush! What do you think will happen ? Shocked to see Scabior back? Will they manage to escape?<strong>


	8. Chapter 8 : 8th December

Scabior went closer to Hermione face all the while murmuring « Well, well, well what do we have there ? » When he finally saw her face, she could see a flash of fear in his eyes. But he soon regained his attitude "Hermione Granger or should I call you Penelope Clearwater? It is a pleasure to meet you again. I am happy that this time you won't stop me to get my reward." He smiled an evil grin.

He still wore the same outfit, a bit more used yes but he still was wearing her pink scarf. He remembered how she used to smell and could not help but want to smell her again.

Hermione wasn't really listening to him. She was focused on Charlie. She knew there was only one way out of this mess.

The Snatcher was coming closer to her. He went on his knees near her and began putting a strand of hair behind her ear. Hermione stayed still, concentrating on Charlie. She shuddered a bit at his touch and cursed herself. She shouldn't be affected by him. She fought back memories of the Malfoy Manor and began focusing on the task at hand.

Scabior then whispered in her left ear "I would have love to have fun with you but you know, being a dealer in dragon's part doesn't leave me a lot of time. But be assured that if I had more time I would have taken you…" He smiled and inspired her smell "But as much as I hate to do it you will have to die. As your friend" He gestured to where Charlie had fallen. He was a bit surprised she did not move or talk back to him but he figured she was still terrified by their last encounter. He slowly stood up and took his time before aiming his wand at her.

Hermione fixed him, her brown eyes meeting his. She looked fierce and he suddenly remembered that the last time she had been terrified. She had to have another trick up her sleeve. He decided to stop losing time and act before she could.

"Avada" he began but never finished as Charlie tackled him. They both rolled to the ground and began fighting with their bare hands. Scabior's wand was too far for them but Hermione's wand wasn't. Scabior jumped near it, trying to reach for it. He was pulled by his feet by Charlie. They were both fighting for their lives and Hermione could only watch them and prayed.

She had managed to use wandless and mute magic to destunnned Charlie while Scabior was talking to her and she was exhausted from the effort. Charlie was on top of Scabior. He lifted his fist, aiming for the head but Scabior was good at dodging. This was not some bar fight, both of them were at their full capacity.

They both took a few hits and when Charlie hit Scabior in the head, the spell that maintained Hermione bounded was lifted. She wasted no time, jumping for the nearest wand. They were rolling and she could not aim the Snatcher so she decided to stunned both of them. She quickly cast two "Stupefy" and then went to help Charlie.

The first he did was taking the wand she had and she went to look for hers. Charlie sent his patronus to warn the other that they got the thief. Hermione cast a spell on Scabior so that he could not move and also placed a tracking charm on him, just in case he managed to escape.

Harry and Ron were among the first to arrive and they quickly engulfed Hermione in a tight hug. When she finally managed to get out of their embrace she saw their eyes widen in horror. Her left side was bruised due to her fall and she had nasty cuts everywhere thanks to her attempt at flying in a forest.

It was past midnight and everyone wanted this to be over so the dragon tamers sent everyone to their bed while they took care of Scabior. He was imprisoned in a basement and they put Charlie and Alexander to guard him.

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><p>Hermione was exhausted. She was kind of glad she had overslept the previous day so that at least she had a good night sleep. She went to bed directly, not noticing that one of her bouquet was gone.<p>

Back in the basement Alexander was making fun of Charlie.

"So you managed to be stunned without even noticing him. I am glad to know that you are such a worthy opponent." He said with a devil-may-care smile. He really enjoyed seeing Charlie's jaw tensed and his chuckles becoming white. "How does it feel to be saved by a woman?"

"Shut up Alexander" said an angered Charlie

"You know you were right. You don't have her but she totally has you" he added with a grin. He loved making Charlie mad. That was too much for Charlie. He had a rough night, worrying for his family and fighting for his life. He could not bear Alexander's comment.

He took him by the collar and chucked him against a wall. "I won't hear any other comment from you, Alexander, did I make myself clear?" The man struggled in his grip and kicked him in the jaw but Charlie did not budge. He was too tired for this.

Scabior decided it was a good time as any to intervene. "Well boys if you really want to fight maybe you could let me out. So that at least you would know which one of you is the best" He understood that they were fighting for pride and he was willing to play with it. But Charlie knew what he wanted to do so he released Alexander from his grip. "Don't get your hope up, thief!"

Deciding to be the bigger man, Charlie extended his hand towards Alexander "Truce, for the dragons?" The other took it and mumbled "truce". They both went silent after that and waited until dawn that someone relieved them from their duty. When they finally did, they went straight to bed.

Hermione woke up at ten, totally disoriented. She panicked a little until she remembered the last events. She was glad they were all safe but she could feel that something was not right. They had to interrogate Scabior, she wanted to know how he managed to go through the wards. But all thoughts escaped her when she noticed how many owls were waiting for her.

Being in the reserve she realized made her forget her job. The first days she had fought to work but those last days she never even thought about it. The only thing that she still did was putting the bouquets in vase every morning. She sighed. It was better that she got back to it. There was an impressive number of letters of complaints and she knew she had no choice. If she wanted that job she had to work more.

Harry, Ron and Ginny were discussing the events of the last night. They could not understand how it was possible they had been so close to losing Hermione and Charlie. They were glad Hermione was who she was because else they would be grieving. The mood was morose to say the least. All knew that they had been very close to lose two of their friends.

Molly decided that the best way to cope with everything that happened was to begin organizing Charlie's birthday. What better way to forget the death than by celebrating life? She quickly went to Hermione's room and was sad to see that she was once more drowning herself into work.

She had been happy to see the young girl finally having some fun and coming closer to some of her children. She thought that maybe she was finally seeing that this job was not meant for her. It took her away from what she loved: her friends.

"Hermione dear, how are you?" she asked, concern lacing her words.

"I'm fine, don't worry. I have seen worse." Molly could hear that she was not lying but she did not like it one bit.

"Maybe you should go talk to Harry and Ron? And did you forget that we were supposed to plan Charlie's birthday?" she wanted to change her mind, she wanted to make her forget of all the bad things that happened. Hermione had just begun opening a bit more and Molly was afraid that she was shutting them out another time.

"You're right I said I was going to help… But I have so much work to do" even her could hear the complaint tone she was using. Hermione was ashamed to feel that for once she did not want to work, just have some time with her friends.

"My dear maybe you could wait a little before working. It had been a rough night, I am sure that your colleague will understand that you are disturbed. Come with me please" begged Molly

Hermione felt like a stubborn child. But maybe she was too stubborn to realize it? Maybe her job wasn't satisfactory? She knew she worked harder when she did not fully grasp something and since she began at the Ministry she worked harder than she ever had before. Had she been wrong? Wasn't it her dream job? She needed to talk to someone. Charlie was her first thought. But he was probably sleeping at the moment she realized. Well then she had no other choice than talk with her best friends.

"Ok, I will help you Mrs Weasley" she said to Molly astonishment.

They spent the rest of the afternoon actively planning Charlie's birthday. Molly was happy to have her big family helping her. She hoped Charlie would be surprised.

When the night finally come, all gathered in the meeting room. It did not happen often that all the dragon tamers were meeting in one place. But they had to discuss what to do with Scabior. Of course they had to hand him to the Romanian government for trial but they wanted some answers first. They decided that a little interrogation was not going to hurt.

They brought Scabior from his cell. He smiled when he saw Hermione glancing at him

"Hello beautiful. I a

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><p>m happy to see you another time. But I fear I won't be able to kill you this time. Maybe soon?" he grinned before being thrown away by a powerful hit from Harry.<p>

Scabior coughed a little and decided maybe he should stop the bravery. Then the interrogation began. They wanted to know who he was going to sell his merchandise to.

"There is always a market for dragon parts you know that." Scabior was trying to elude the question and they all knew it.

"Answer the damn question. Who?"

"There is a big demand on the market right now. I don't know why." He answered truthfully this time. "That's why I did it. Usually I am not stupid enough to risk my life for such thievery. But they would have paid more than well."

All the workers of the reserve shivered. That meant more thieves were going to try their chance. That was the worst thing that could happen right now. They were a bit short of workers, as usual, but with their previous directors retiring the Reserve was going to be a mess for some time. They did not need to add to their worries the threat of more thieves.

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><p>As they were all discussing the man in black was busy removing the ward in order to let his little army enter the reserve. They were as discreet as possible, not wanting to warn the workers of the reserve that they were there. They quietly went to their hiding place, waiting for the next day to attack.<p>

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><p>When everyone went back to their house, Hermione was distraught. She was quite sure something was amiss. She looked at Charlie and could see his face displayed the same emotions. But they had caught Scabior so what could the problem be? They discussed a bit between themselves and decided that a good night of sleep would help them to clear their minds.<p>

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><p><strong>So how did you find Scabior? Excited for tomorrow ? I am currently writing the chapter so review if you have any ideas ! And thank you to xXMizz Alec VolturiXx for her reviews ! They really mean the world to me<strong>


	9. Chapter 9 : 9th December

Despite what he told Hermione earlier, Charlie could not sleep. He knew something was amiss. So he decided that even if it was close to one am he had to talk a walk. If he patrolled the reserve he would feel better. That is the reason why he found himself near the house his family occupied. He was going to leave and go back to his house when he heard screams. It took him a few minutes to recognize Hermione's voice but as soon as he did, he began climbing to her window.

Without even thinking he broke the glass in order to go in. He quickly cast a "Reparo" in order to push back the cold from outside. He saw her struggling in her bed. He could now discern the words she was screaming.

"No, not Harry! Not the Manor!Nooooooooooo" tears were running on her cheeks. His heart crushed at her sight. He pushed her shoulder and gently called her in order to wake her up. He could not bear to see her in such distress.

She jolted from her bed. Her eyes could not focus as they were filled by tears. Seeing his form she began fighting, thinking someone was attacking her. Charlie did not try to restrain her but simply spoke to her, try to sooth her with his voice.

"Oh Merlin, Charlie it's you!" she exclaimed before bursting in tears. He had no other choice than to hug her. He tried rocking her and he could hear her, mumbling in her beard, "it was a dream, just a dream".

After ten minutes of soothing words, Charlie decided it was time to understand what was going on. He gently lifted her chin and drowned in her eyes. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes puffy and red from crying. Even if that condition, he could not stop thinking that she was freaking beautiful.

"Hermione, please tell me what it is" he begged her. It could not bear seeing her so upset.

"It was nothing Charlie, sorry for bothering you." She replied softly, her voice barely a whisper. Charlie could not believe his ears. After all this time she still thought he would take that as an acceptable answer? He was determined to know what caused her so much trouble.

"Hermione you were crying. I want to know what happened." He said with a stern voice. She could hear his resolve but she was not sure of his intentions.

"Why would you want that?" she asked, afraid of his answer. He looked deeply in her eyes and saw her worry. That decided him to tell her the truth.

"Because I care about you Hermione. I don't like seeing you so upset. Please tell me. Maybe I can help" he proposed unsure it was the right thing to do.

"It is too late for that Charlie… " Her words hang in the air and Charlie did not know how to react to that. It stung a little hearing that "But I will tell you." She added in a whisper. She braced herself and began telling him how two years before Harry, Ron and herself were captured by the Snatchers and then sent to the Malfoy Manor. She told him everything even her torture. She was crying the whole time but Charlie's arm wrapped around her made her feel safe. When she finally finished she could see tears in Charlie's eyes.

He looked at her and gently told her "I promise you I will protect you in every way possible. You will never have to suffer the same pain while I am alive." He then crushed her against his chest, vowing to never let go of her. And he could feel his anger blasting in his heart. If he had known earlier what Scabior had done he would have killed him. He understood Harry's reaction better now.

Hermione was finally relaxing in his arm, and her head was dropping without her noticing. Charlie noticed that she had trouble keeping her eyes open so he kissed her forehead and tried to pry himself out of her embrace. She looked at him and he could feel his resolve to leave her melting.

"Charlie… Could you please stay with me? I don't want to be alone." She pleaded. The fact that she had asked him to stay decided him. He was not going to let her down tonight.

"Let me just put a few wards around your room. I want you to feel as safe as possible" she watched him from under her blanket and could not help but wonder why he was so nice with her. But she was grateful that he was there. If she had woke up alone, she might have panicked. She also found herself watching his well-defined frame when he was not looking her way. She blushed, realizing she was checking him out. When he joined her in the bed, he quickly put his arm around her waist and scooted her closer to him. Feeling his warm embrace and his smell engulfing her, Hermione felt safe. A few minutes later she was asleep.

Charlie watched her, peacefully sleeping. He was glad to see he had managed to calm her down but he was still angry that he did not know what she had endured before. He felt like an idiot, especially after his inability to protect her from Scabior the previous night. He breathed in her delightful scent and soon joined her in her sleep.

Charlie woke up at six, his mind still in a blur. He could feel someone near him and he was not sure if he had slept with someone the day before. Looking around him he saw he was not in his room. That wasn't uncommon as he tried to never bring his one-night conquests to the reserve. But at the same time the room was not unfamiliar, he had already been there before. He looked at the form sleeping near him and saw it was Hermione. The events from the previous night came back, flooding his mind. His rage came back to, he was glad Scabior was sent to the Romanian Ministry of Magic today, else he would have punched him until his face was a bulb.

He waited a bit for Hermione to wake up but seeing her still sleeping soundly he decided to leave her a note, explaining where he was. He then went to put the wards on. Even if Hermione was not helping him, he was happy. He needed some alone time from time to time, and with his family here and the whole thief mess he did not have a minute for himself.

Hermione woke up from cold. She looked up from her nest of blankets and saw that Charlie had left. But there was a note, near her pillow. She quickly read it and decided to join him in putting the wards.

Charlie was surprised to see Hermione so early out of bed. He had hoped that she would sleep a bit more. After all, the last two nights had been quite chaotic. But he was happy to see her. The first two minutes were a bit awkward but they soon fell back to their routine talk. Hermione even made him laugh, explaining how one of her colleague mixed up two files.

They stayed the whole morning together, simply enjoying each other's presence. They helped Percy sorting all the administration's paper. Hermione realized that she had no desire to go back to her work, not today at least. It surprised Charlie to actually have fun sorting papers. Maybe it was because Hermione seemed to go along so well with Percy. He could not suppress a laugh when they both were excited to see an article about some stupid regulations dating from the 1900s.

Hermione was having tons of fun tidying up. She sometimes caught herself staring at Charlie. She wanted to thank him for this night but she was feeling awkward at the same time. And she could not stop checking him out. She was most of the time outside with him and so she had never seen that he had so big arms. He liked to wear short shirts with big baggy pants and he looked marvelous in them. She caught herself nearly drowning once. She could not deny any longer that she found him attractive but they were good friends. On top of that she was living in England and not wanting to leave soon. They were just friends.

When the afternoon came, Hermione joined Ginny and they asked if they could go shopping in the town nearby. Their request was, of course, granted but they had to be accompanied just in case. Charlie volunteered for the task as it will be the occasion for him to have a little time with his sister.; and get a few eyesight of Hermione he added internally.

They apparated to the nearest town and soon Ginny was in hurry to buy everything. Hermione was more restrained. She had agreed to come in order to please Ginny but she wished Charlie was not there. She liked him yes, but she knew Ginny was going to force her to try some suits she would not feel comfortable in. She did not want Charlie to see her in a ridiculous outfit.

Ginny dragged Hermione in the first shop. They began wandering around and picking what they liked. Charlie did not know what to do so he just stood guard near the entrance. He could hear Ginny blaming Hermione for taking only grey outfits. He could hear Hermione strained voice. He was smiling at their antics when suddenly Ginny decided to bring him into this mess.

"Okay let's make a deal Hermione. Charlie here will be our guy expert. If he likes the outfit you take it. Ok?" asked a very determined Ginny.

"As if I had a choice" mumbled Hermione. She knew that, even if she did not buy those outfits, Ginny was going to give them as Christmas present to her. She entered the cabin and began changing.

She tried a few outfits that she decided to buy before taking Ginny's choices. The first one was a rose outfit and only saying the color made her want to vomit. She quickly decided to let it rest somewhere where she might forget it. She chuckled. After all she still feared Ginny's wrath when clothes where involved. She grabbed another suit and decided to give it a chance. She changed and went to ask the other for their opinion.

When she stepped out of the changing room, the first thing she noticed was Charlie. His blue eyes were piercing her and she was nearly sure he was checking her out. Ginny was clapping, clearly happy of her choice but Charlie stood there, motionless. After what felt an eternity, his eyes went to meet Hermione's. He let a breath out before whispering "you're beautiful". That was all Hermione needed to buy the suit. If it could have that kind of effect on Charlie she was going to wear it every day.

She went back to the changing room and she could feel Charlie's eyes on her back all the time. She was in the middle of changing when Ginny entered without warning.

"We have to go Hermione, there was an urgency at the reserve. Dress as fast as possible" she stated before leaving her to change. Hermione did not hesitate and in less than two minutes she was fully dressed. She ran to her friends and Charlie apparated them back to the reserve.

Charlie went to assert the situation and less than ten minutes later he came back to them.

"A dragon escaped. This is the worse that could ever happen. We don't know how it was possible but it is not on the reserve anymore. We have to find him and bring him back as soon as possible." He explained the girls. He sighed. This whole situation was a total disaster. "The majority of the dragon tamers have already left. They planned to find him tonight and we will try to take him back immediately. As we can't leave the reserve completely unattended I am staying with six others. Let's pray they will find him easily"

He accompanied them back to their house where he explained the situation to the rest of his family.

The evening was gloomy, nobody knowing what to do and Charlie was lost in his thoughts. The wards were supposed to prevent the escape of dragons! And even if one ward broke most of the dragons were used to the life in the reserve and stayed in its boundaries. He could not understand what was happening. And he wanted to be one of the scouts looking for the missing dragon. Even if his family was there he felt useless. He should be with the others not here.

As no one was in a good mood they all went to bed early.

It was nearly midnight when Hermione was suddenly wake up by noises. A barely woke up Harry was in her door, screaming "The reserve is under attack, quick grab your wand!"

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><p><strong>Fun is about to begin ! What did you think about Charlie and Hermione's moment? What do you think is happening?<br>**

**Also sorry if there is any mistake. I am writing each chapter the day I post it and English is not my native language so I may do a lot of errors.**

**And I don't know if I said it before but each chapter corresponds to a day. That's why I like when stuff is happening during the night !**

**Tell me what your thoughts about this chapter :)**


	10. Chapter 10 : 10th December

Hermione's instincts kicked in. She grabbed her wand and went after Harry. She did not care that she was only wearing her nightgown. Right now her mind was only set on the fight that was going to take place. When she arrived downstairs, the whole family Weasley was there. The whole family except Charlie. She had no time to think about him they had to get moving.

"Does someone know what is going on? Bill and Fleur what are you still doing here? Take Victoire and flee!" Hermione said, taking command. Her mind was racing and free of disturbing thoughts.

"We can't… It is impossible to apparated and we can't get walking. As to what's going on Charlie warned us that they were under attack" replied Bill. He looked directly at her, ready to hear what she was going to say.

"Ok then go in the basement. I want Victoire protected at all cost. Fleur stay guard there. Bill we will need you. Do you have any mean to know where Charlie is?" she was not hesitating. She was already casting wards, in order to protect Victoire. She was happy to see Fleur running with Victoire to the basement. Fleur casted a disillusionment charm on Victoire then some protective charms and finally she disillusionated herself.

"We can't find him. At least while he is alive. What should we do?" Bill was as serious as Hermione. The other were just watching them talk, knowing that they would come with a plan sooner than them.

"Then we will go into two groups. One will try to go out the reserve and alert the authorities. Bill you go there in case there are spells avoiding you to go out. Mrs and Mr Weasley go with him too. Percy go with them, I trust you will know what to say to the Ministry. Audrey you too. The rest of us is going to the main building. We have to understand what's going on. Remember trust nobody except ourselves. And be cautious." Arthur wanted to protest but his sons took him by his arms. Hermione met Bill eyes and told him sternly "Go back as quickly as possible and take Victoire with you"

"Don't worry Hermione. Take care and find Charlie"he whispered to her. She nodded and went outside.

She ran with the other to the main building where they could see some lights. When they approached Hermione quickly asserted the situation.

"Harry and Ginny you go behind, I want a clear perimeter, George and Angelina stay here and hide. If someone tries to go behind our back you disarm them and knock them out. I will send you a patronus with more instructions later. Ron come with me, we go in frontal" As she spoke they were all nodding. They went immediately in position.

Ron and Hermione charged at the same time that Harry and Ginny. Inside the building it was a real mess. Hermione quickly stunned two guys. Ron imprisoned another. Ginny and Harry went having a duel with two other opponents in the backside. Hermione was throwing spells after spells, she did not think she was pure adrenaline. She protected Ron from a vicious spell and in exchange he sent a metal hose to one of her opponent.

They were deadly. In a few minutes their room was clear of any opponent and they ran to the dragon tamer that had been fighting when they entered the room. He was lying on the floor. Hermione quickly checked his vital functions. He was still alive so she applied some medicine spells and went to explore the building.

They encountered many opponents but their experience prevailed. Ron was studying to be an Auror so he was more dangerous than when they had fought against Voldemort. Hermione never let her guard down and had been practicing since they had defeated the dark lord. When they entered the canteen Hermione finally caught sign of Charlie. He was bravely facing five wizards.

Ron stunned one of them and Hermione enjoyed putting down two others. Charlie was surprised to find them there but that did not disturb him and he finished his other opponents.

"What are you doing here? You should leave!" Charlie was clearly afraid for them. This was even worse than a thief. Someone was trying to take over the reserve. And they had an awful good plan. With only ten dragon tamers it was impossible to efficiently protect all the dragons.

"We are here to help you. We send the others to alert the ministries. Now what is the most important?" Hermione was set. She was not going to back down.

"I vowed to protect you, I can't let you fight!" Charlie was having a mental fight. He did not want her to be harm and that was more than likely to happen if she fought. Those guys were no joke. He felt Ron's hand on his shoulder, restraining him.

"We are here and we are more than able to fight. Either you lose the reserve or we save it. Now speak." Declared Ron. Hermione was actually surprised that he handled the situation so well. Ron was often impulsive and she was proud to see that in such stressful situation he managed to stay calm.

Charlie was going to speak when suddenly the doors were open. All three of them were ready to stun whoever was coming from the door. They quickly put their wands down when they saw Harry and Ginny. They were all relieved. The two lovers were not alone, they had found another dragon tamer, Alexander.

They had no time for introductions but Hermione still recognized the tamer Charlie had warned her about. But she had other things in her mind.

"We were going to set up our next attack. What should we do? Charlie and Alexander what are the main point?" Hermione went back to business quickly. The more the merrier, she thought.

"How many are we? All the Weasley family?" asked Alexander. Hermione was not sure why he asked that but she figured that he had a plan and depending on their number they could do it or not.

"Yes the whole Weasley's family plus their boyfriend, girlfriend. Some are trying to go out, to warn the Ministries. The others are here. We are a total of six fighting right now. What is your plan?" They had to get moving and fast. The more they waited the more time their enemy had to prepare a counter attack.

"My plan? Well it's simple, really." Alexander smiled and Hermione frowned. He was enjoying this too much. "Bandario" he exclaimed, his wand drawn. Hermione was confused. What was he trying to do?

Suddenly fifty men apparated. Hermione understood they had been betrayed. She expected her friends to react but none of them moved. What was happening? She raised her wand, ready to fight. Alexander saw her and laughed.

"Someone did not breakfast this morning? It's too bad…" He looked devilish. Hermione decided to stay silent and to hear him. She was nearly sure he was going to explain what was going on. "You see Hermione, can I call you Hermione? No? That's too bad, Mudblood. " He spitted. Hermione was surprised to hear such an insult after such a long time but that did not rattle her too much. "Everyone that ate breakfast has unconsciously ingurgitate a very powerful potion. Now they are completely brainless. They won't help you. It is way better than the Imperio because we don't have to control them." Hearing him, Hermione scanned the eyes of her friends. They were all blank, looking to nowhere. That was bad, really really bad. She began panicking but she found Charlie's eyes. His did not look like the other. She sensed that he was not under the spell. That brought her courage.

"It seems your big plan failed. I am still up and running. And aren't I the brightest witch?" Hermione decided that bragging was certainly the best thing to do.

"What are you one against all of us?" She used wandless magic to knock out two opponents at the other end of the room. She then smiled, proud of the terrified glance he sent her. He was slowly walking between her friends and she was focused on him. She knew he was trying to distract her. He randomly punched in the stomach Charlie who could only huff in response.

"What are you going to do, whore? I can beat him as I want and you won't be able to move." Alexander was so proud of himself. He was so busy bragging he had no time to react when Charlie stood up and petrified him. Hermione knew that Charlie was going to try a trick like this so she casted a powerful Protego around them and their friends before the others had time to attack.

She smiled at Charlie, happy to have him at her side. They took a long breath and began attacking. The odds that they won were slim but they were skilled. Charlie was fast; he dodged nearly every spell sent his way. Hermione was efficient, each spell founding his victim. They were working in line so that they could not touch the other by mistake.

Hermione took a vicious spell, she could not speak anymore. But that did not stop her, only slow her. Seeing that, their opponents began to flee. Charlie quickly finished them. Then he helped Hermione. They looked at each other, relieved to have survived. They fell into each other arms and took a long breath.

"I was so worried, I thought I really was alone" whispered Hermione.

"I never thought that in order to protect you I had to not eat breakfast, but I'm glad I did" joked Charlie. She smiled. Her smile vanished fast as she realized all the implications of what Alexander said.

"Charlie, nobody is going to warn the Ministries! They are all under the spell!" she exclaimed, panicked. They had to find a way out of this mess.

"Focus Hermione! We need to think… We can't go outside and we don't have enough time to find an antidote to deliver the others. That leaves only us two." Charlie was trying to summarize the situation, hoping that Hermione's brilliant mind was coming with a solution.

"They have to communicate! They must have a mean of communication" Hermione's face brightened. If they could communicate with the outside that was good for them but Hermione highly doubted it. But they could still catch the others conversations. They immediately began looking for earpieces.

Hermione found one first and when Charlie found one too they tried to understand the language their assailants were using.

"Do you understand a damn word they say?" asked Hermione, annoyed.

"It must be a code. We can't use that so I suggest we put my family in a safe place and then we will try to deliver at least one dragon" Charlie knew it was going to be dangerous but the dragons were their best chance to defeat their enemies.

"Ok. Let's put them all in this wardrobe and close it. We can't afford to lose time. Why do you think they are doing it?" Hermione was back to business. If she could understand their motivation then she could overtake them.

"They want the Reserve, I don't know how they planned to fight the ministries… As soon as they would hear about it they will send their best fighters and take it back." Charlie was lost, he did not understand why someone was willing to sacrifice so many people for nothing.

"It will be useless if the dragons are not there anymore. That means they are going to either kill them all or move them. I would bet the second" She met his eyes and was surprised to find admiration in his eyes. Then a spark of understanding glistened in them.

"They don't need all the dragons, we have plenty of eggs. We were so happy to have so many… They are going to kill all the dragons and take the eggs! We have to stop them!" Charlie's voice was full of anger. Dragons were his life. Knowing that someone was planning to butcher them all angered him to no end.

"All right Charlie. What do we do? We go for the eggs or for the dragons?" Hermione's eyes were Charlie's anchor. He was panicked and furious but she was still there, ready to follow him.

"We go for the eggs. The dragons aren't easy to kill. We can't let them take any baby" Hermione hesitated a bit before speaking.

"If Alexander betrayed you, don't you think he told them how to kill a dragon? Or even poisoned them?" She hated saying it, but they had to face all the facts. His face decomposed. He had not thought of this possibility…

"We still go for the eggs. They are the future of the Reserve" he said with reluctance. He was glad that Hermione was so bright. They did not waste any more time and ran to the nursery. They were lucky to not meet anyone before entering it.

They had decided during their run that Hermione will protect them when they entered so that they could assert the situation and Charlie was going to attack as soon as possible. Their plan worked perfectly as their opponents were caught by surprise at their arrival. It was a real butchery, spells flying everywhere. They came out exhausted even if the adrenaline was flowing through their veins.

When everyone except them was down they went to see the eggs. Charlie counted them rapidly and could see that two were missing. "Shit!" He exclaimed. Two future dragons were merlin knows where. Hermione being so responsible one, began hiding the others. Seeing that Charlie looked defeated she spoke

"Charlie, I know that you are upset but we have to save the other eggs. And the dragons. Do you want to save this reserve or not? If yes move your ass! I know nothing about dragons!" she knew that the best way to elicit a response from him was to push him and so she did. She was happy to see him going out of his trance. He began helping her and ten minutes later the eggs were hidden in a safe place. They had been interrupted once by a group of five wizards but they had quickly eliminated them. But they knew they were going to be discovered soon. They had to get moving.

"Which dragon do we go first?" Hermione was tired but she knew she still had enough energy to fight the whole day.

"Hermione I have thought about it…" She could hear the tone of his voice, and she knew she was not going to like what he was going to say. "You never went close to a dragon… It would be safer for you if you tried to contact the ministry" She could see part of his point but right now he was being a dumbass and he knew it.

"Charlie you know perfectly well that this is the worse move we could do. Besides I was close to a dragon before, I even rode it. Don't you remember Gringott?" her eyes held all her fury "And don't go another time about how you want to protect me. I am staying whether you want it or not." He could not deny her, she was so breathtaking. And she was right. They couldn't risk splitting up.

"Ok let's go. I know exactly what we are going to do" he took her by the hand and they began running to the closest enclosure.

As Hermione had predicted, Alexander had poisoned the dragons. But he had not the courage to kill them so he had just made them groggy. As if he was feeling guilty and wanted to give them a chance. Nestor, the dragon closer to the reserve was the most dangerous and that's why they put him closer, so that they could intervene fast if something happened. There were currently twenty wizards around him, trying to calm him.

Charlie smiled, happy to see his most fierce dragon put such a fight. Nestor might have been tied by the hind legs but that did not stop him to throw his fire every chance he had. Charlie stepped in the fight, distracting the wizards long enough to allow Nestor to escape from his links.

Hermione was ready when Nestor began flying away. She jumped on his neck and tried to guide him, as they had done in the bank so long ago. The dragon was angry that someone was riding him and she had some difficulties staying on his neck. She was too busy trying to avoid Nestor 's attacks on her and to protect Nestor from the others to look for Charlie. She just hoped he was okay. But suddenly Nestor seemed to understand she wanted to help him. She had just stunned a wizard that was trying to put him down, when suddenly she was flying a very angry dragon, burning everything that was on his path. She had only a few seconds to protect Charlie from an imminent death. She casted as many aguamenti as she could and hoped he was ok.

Charlie had enough experience with dragons, especially with the nasty Nestor, to know when they were going to fire. He quickly stepped out of his way and protected himself with the usual spells in that case. He could also feel Hermione's Aguamenti and he was happy to have her with him. He looked up at her.

The sun was rising and here she was, riding a dragon. It looked like a movie he realized. He tried to etch this moment in his memory. She was stunning and Nestor was perfect. His wings completely deployed he was more than impressive. Hermione's hair where everywhere and she looked like an amazon, riding for battle.

But they had a reserve to save, so Charlie quickly took a broom and flew with Hermione on Nestor to the nearest dragon. To say the wizards were surprised to see them was an understatement. Even when you are attacking a dragon's reserve you are not ready to see a dragon charging with a witch riding him. When they delivered the second dragon, they knew the rest of the assailants knew they were there. They had caused too much havoc to hope being anonymous.

As Hermione was doing a great job with Nestor, Charlie decided she had to carry on and try to free as much dragons as possible. He was going to try to join the ministries. They had done a great job at saving the maximum and he knew that the reserve was going to survive. But they needed bigger help if they wanted to definitely stop this invasion. They separated, hoping to see the other alive at their next encounter.

Hermione was surprised that Nestor was reacting to her commands. Maybe he understood she was just willing to help. She would never have taught she was going to ride a dragon again. But here she was and she felt powerful. And afraid. Charlie had left her and so she was alone. She hoped he was okay. They had managed to do so much that she was proud of their work. But a lot was still to be accomplished.

Charlie flew to the border without any problem but as he was going to go through it he was brutally pushed back. Damn, they had changed the wards as he feared. He was going to inspect them when suddenly twenty wizards faced him. He tried to fight them off but he had no chance. He soon found himself tied and beaten up. To say that his opponent s were not happy that he had fought was an understatement. He could feel one of his rib breaking. He just hoped they were stupid enough to bring him back to their headquarters.

And sure they did. They had invaded one of the numerous cabins around the lake. He soon found himself in a cage, waiting. He hoped Hermione was doing a good job and prayed for her safety.

Hermione could not ease the disturbing feeling she had. She was nearly sure something happened to Charlie. If that was true then she truly was alone. She was going to free a fourth dragon when she saw that there was too many persons for her. She had no chance to fight them. She thought hard and did the only think she could. She asked Nestor to fly up, as high as possible. She was silently praying that they were stupid enough to have forgotten to put wards on the sky.

She knew that flying with a dragon outside of a reserve was one of the biggest crimes in the world but she had no choice. She was not safe, already some wizards had recovered enough to try to chase them by brooms. She could feel Nestor's fire building and she raised her wand to help him get rid of their pursuers.

They managed to fly out and Hermione released a breath she did not know she was holding. She was exhausted, her adrenaline rate was going down but she had no choice than carry on flying. The reserve and her only friends, her second family, were counting on her. If she failed this was the end. So she carried on guiding Nestor until she finally saw Bucharest.

As she approached the city, she saw a cloud of wizards coming to her. Of course, there was a delegation trying to stop her. They did not know that it wasn't a wild dragon and so, when she saw her on his back, they stopped. Hermione barely prevented Nestor to set them on fire too. She screamed that the reserve was under attack and she could see her welcoming group thinking whether to believe her or not. Finally they opted for believing her and soon she saw another group joining them.

They explained to her where she could safely land so that they could discuss what was going on. She followed their instructions and collapsed on the floor as soon as she set foot on the ground. Nestor immediately flew back to the reserve, at least that was what she hoped.

A team of doctor took care of her, while she narrated her whole adventure to the whole ministry's board. As soon as she finished numerous delegations were sent across the world. An intervention group was soon created and she assumed the lead. She might have been beyond tired but she was the only one knowing the reserve and their opponents. They set for the reserve as the sun was going down.

Charlie was being tortured. They had discovered that the rest of the eggs had disappeared and that is family was hidden. They had no other mean of pressure than physically torturing him. He was currently suffering under a Doloris and he could feel his resolve chattering. But he had to stay strong. For the reserve. For his family. For Hermione. As long as they tortured him that meant they did not have her. He knew she had escaped when they interrogated him. They kept asking him where she was and he was happy to know that at least she was safe.

They had given up on killing all the dragons and only killed three of them before apparating away, back to their real headquarters. Charlie was currently held there and he was joyful. They had not managed to bring down the whole reserve. They were taking out their anger on him and he knew him. But that did not fade his happiness. At least part of the reserve had survived.

When they finally arrived at the reserve, Hermione knew their opponents had deserted it. She was frustrated but at least there was no more fight. She stayed awake until they found an antidote to put everyone out of their blank state. Then she proceeded to tell them what happened. When Molly learned that Charlie was missing she fainted. They were then all escorted to Bucharest where an hotel was welcoming them. Even if she was death worried Hermione fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Harry could not believe what Hermione told them. He looked at Ginny and saw her terror. He embraced her and they stayed like that the whole night: both of them wondering what was going to happen.

Ron could not stop pacing. His brother was missing and during the whole ordeal he did nothing because he ate breakfast! That was just too ridiculous! And his parents were more than worried. He knew that if they lost Charlie they were never going to live happily again. Fred's death was still too fresh on their minds. He promised himself that whatever rescue mission was going to take place he would participate. He could not stay another minute without doing anything.

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><p><strong>And here you are. let me apologize for any mistake I wrote in a rush and that is the bigger chapter I have ever written! I really want to know what you thought... I hoped it was what you hoped... Did you like the little part about HarryRon and Ginny? Please review I worked really hard to bring you this chapter and hope to be rewarded :)**


	11. Chapter 11 : 11th December

**I made a mistake in the last chapter it was a cruciatus curse not a Doloris. Got mixed up between my language and english**

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><p>Hermione woke up and stretched before realizing where she was. Suddenly everything came back to her. She could not think at something else than finding Charlie. She stepped out her bed and went to find the rest of the Weasley. Seeing all their tired faces she felt bad for sleeping. Ron immediately went to her side.<p>

"Don't worry 'Mione, you deserved your sleep. We just couldn't…" she saw that his face was strained. She could only imagine what pain they were suffering. Fred's death was still fresh and there was no way she would let Charlie die. They had to organize a rescue mission. Ron's words had made her felt a little bit better but she knew that they had to find Charlie soon. Who knew what he was suffering right now?

"I'm going to ask the same stupid question but is there any way we can locate Charlie?" she asked, she already knew from the day before that they could not find where he was.

"Hermione we can't…"began Bill before his gaze lost his focus. Tears began clouding his eyes and he wiped them angrily.

"How did you know he was in danger yesterday?" she had to understand everything that happened before she could act. She hated this, she did not want to plan, she only wanted to go and rescue him. But if they wanted to be successful they had to carefully plan everything.

"We all casted a charm at the end of the war. It allows us to tell the other that we are in danger. It was the only way for us to feel safe. And we can locate each other…" Hermione rejoiced at Ron's voice. Maybe Bill had forgotten this aspect. She knew it was nearly impossible but she had to cling to some hope. "But only if we are dead or under one of the forbidden curse" she could hear Ron's voice cracking.

She had to admit it destroyed her to ask them but she had to.

"Could you please try to locate him?" her voice was shaking, the implications of her question only to be visible in her mind. She faced Ron, asking him to help her. He could see that she was asking it for the right reasons, that she was suffering as much as them. He knew that was one of their few hopes so he nodded and pressed his right hand on his left arm. It had been quite ironic that the only spell that enabled the Weasley to locate each other in time of trouble forced them to do the same movements than the Death Eaters.

He screamed in terror, his eyes full of tears. "I located him". Hermione did not hesitate a minute longer. She knew that time was running out.

She quickly called the leader of the investigation and asked for thirty men. She fought with him, to know who was going to come. He did not want any of the family present. But they had so much experience that he could not resist much longer. And Hermione was more than determined to be the one leading the operation. There was no way in hell that someone was going to lead this if it wasn't her. She needed to do it. First for her conscience, second for the Weasley who had been her family for eight years and also for Charlie. As she had already led the counter attack on the reserve the leader of the investigation had no other choice than to access her request. In a way she was glad they were in Romania, in England she would have been relegated to the simple rank of spectator.

Bill declined the opportunity to come with them. The persons they were going to deal with were way too dangerous for his taste. He was simply glad that his family had survived. He knew that he could trust Hermione to bring Charlie back if he was alive. He felt bad for leaving his brother but he knew he was making the right choice. He also managed to convince his parents to stay with him. They were going to be more a burden than a help and the rescue team needed to be 100% efficient.

Percy and Audrey, his girlfriend, decided to stay also. They weren't going to be really useful in the battlefield and they were needed to put some order into the disaster that had followed the previous day. George decided to join the rescue. He could not let Charlie meet the same fate than Fred.

Harry, Ron and Ginny did not even ask for permission. They were going to help whether they liked it or not. Hermione smiled tiredly. She was proud of her friends and was happy to see them stand strong for their brother. She was also happy to see that they were intelligent enough to know when to come. She smiled at Bill and promised him that she was going to do everything to come back with Charlie.

When they had everyone ready Hermione explained what their plan was.

"I don't have much to say… Just go in and find Charlie. We need him alive. Some of his captors too just in case we could gain some useful info. The priority is Charlie. Kill if you have to." She hated saying those words but she preferred killing someone and save Charlie than let him die because she was too frightened to kill. Ron told them the GPS localization so that they could all apparate. When everyone had memorized the info they gathered and took each other arms before apparating away.

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><p>Charlie could not take it anymore. His jaw was nearly broken and his voice was a hoarse whisper at the best. He knew that he had to talk. So he did<p>

"What did you do with the two eggs you stole?" It surprised his assailant. But his question was rewarded by another Cruciato curse. He tried to scream but his vocal chords were ablaze. He could only feel pain, nothing else. He just prayed his family had the courage to not try to locate him. His torturers were sadistic psychos and he was afraid for the rescue team if there was any. He could barely think at this point, the only thing keeping him awake being the thought of the two missing eggs.

"Where did you put the stolen eggs?" he asked again once the curse wore out. He was nearly sure nobody heard him, his voice was dead for having scream too much. But apparently someone heard him, the man he had come to fear over the past hours. He did not know his name as everyone called him the man in black. He did not use the forbidden curse as the other. No he was much more sadistic than that. He had used legimency to see his worst fears and used them against him. Charlie was emotionally and physically broken. He was just glad he knew enough Occlumency to protect the place they had hidden the eggs. It had of course angered his torturer who had used everything to make him break. He even falsely killed Hermione in front of him by using one of his men and Polyjuice.

The man in black get on his knees, near Charlie's body and whispered: "We did not take any dragon eggs yesterday. They must be dead." Charlie screamed. He knew it was stupid but he wished they were alive. Two future dragons were dead because he did not react fast enough. He knew that was also a torture, they did that so that he would finally give in but he couldn't.

"We're under attack!" this scream relieved Charlie and at the same time made him more afraid than before. "Please, don't let my family be among them" he prayed to Merlin know who. He had seen all the traps they had set and knew that there was nearly no way the rescue team would avoid them all.

The man in black smirked, he could see the terror in Charlie's eyes and he actually enjoyed it. His smile rapidly dropped when another scream followed "they dodged the traps!"

"No fucking way" the man in black yelled. He loved making people suffer but he hated fighting. Even if he was skilled at it. He preferred to torture people. He took a look at a proud Charlie "Don't worry little ginger, I will have your girlfriend and she would soon wish she had never come to this place" He saw the look of pure anger that Charlie sent his way and he could see him struggling to move. That made him laugh. Just for fun he casted a Cruciatus on Charlie before going where the fight was taking place.

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><p>When they had apparated, Hermione had immediately felt that something was wrong. There was no way in hell that their entrance was not guarded. She could feel it was a trap. So she created out of thin air, cloud persons. She then sent them to the entrance. Numerous traps entered in action at that. Learning them from her dusk army Hermione then guided her team to the front door, managing to avoid all the traps. Now the real fight was about to begin. She took a big breath and after having check on her friends she opened the door.<p>

They surprised their opponents. She was sure no one had previously thought about her trick. It was really nothing, a spell that was taught to children and that nearly everyone forgot. But it was the best to avoid any form of traps and Hermione was kind of happy to have managed to have everyone safely inside. Even if that was going to be the worst part. She stunned as many people as she could and she could feel Harry, Ron and Ginny at her side.

She tried to asset the situation even if she was struggling to stay alive. They were more opponents than they had thought there would be and her thirty men were not enough. They had to find Charlie and disappear quickly. She spotted a door near the back and she motioned to her friends. They followed her and she knew her intuition was right when she saw a man in black coming from it. She did not have time to be happy as he appeared to be a marvelous fighter. She could see Harry struggling against him. There was no way that guy was just a random henchman. She quickly changed her plans: they had to locate Charlie and neutralize this guy.

She moved closer to the door and she felt the man in black's eyes on her. He smirked and she had the reflex to dodge a vicious curse sent her way. She needed to get to Charlie. Behind her the rescue team was being slowly butchered and Ron and Ginny were trying to protect Harry and her from any behind attack. They had to beat the man in black.

They had beaten Voldemort so she knew they could beat a simple guy. Charlie still in her mind she began giving herself completely to battle. She knew it was nearly impossible to beat her and Harry in a fight. Both were too skilled for one wizard. So it was no surprise to her when, after a few minutes, they managed to knock out the man in black. She yelled "Harry, apparate with him, we need to interrogate him!" she then went through the door.

Her breath caught in her breast when she finally saw Charlie. He was laying in a pool of blood. "No, no that's not possible" she thought. He could not be dead, not after the fight they had put. He could not let her alone! He had promised to watch over her! She could feel tears menacing to go down. She fought them off and quickly disarmed the two guys that were watching over Charlie. She was devastated, she could not imagine what the Weasley were going to feel when she was going to tell them. Her heart was broken and she had trouble breathing.

Charlie was dead. Their rescue was a failure and she felt worse than she had ever felt before. It was like Fred death all over again. She could not believe her eyes. They had fought so much to come there. But then that made sense, Ron had located him because he was dead… She was so angered she wanted to kill someone. She turned to the two men she had disarmed but she slowly put her wand down.

If there were watching him that meant he was not dead! She ran to him and when she saw his eyes she could not restrain her tears anymore.

"Charlie, oh Merlin, Charlie! You're alive!" she was crying but she did not care. All that mattered was that he was alive. She quickly asserted the gravity of his wounds. She could definitely not apparate with him. Which meant that she had to fight her way back. She sent her patronus to the Weasley, asking for reinforcements. Charlie was alive she just needed to go out!

She went out the room and locked the door. Nobody was going through it without her knowing. Nobody was going to hurt Charlie anymore. She was not going to let that happen. She was currently trying to disarming two wizards when she heard the characteristic plop of Apparitions. She looked around her and was glad to find ministry workers.

The fight was over soon after that and Hermione guided the paramedic team to the room were Charlie was. Molly had not waited the end of the fight to apparate. She needed to see her son. When she saw him she fell into Hermione's arms.

"Are you sure he is alive?" she asked, her voice full of fear. If another of her son was dead she was not sure she could handle it.

"I checked he was breathing. He just passed out…" Hermione was quiet, not wanting to hear what the paramedics were saying. In her mind, Charlie had always been the strong one. Saying him there, laying unconscious in a pool of blood she was feeling vulnerable. It felt like the war never ended. She was not sure she could stand it anymore but she waited until he was deemed ready to apparate to let her tears fall down.

Molly kept hugging her, knowing full well what she was feeling. The two women held to each other, as if there was nothing else in the world. When Hermione's tears began to recess Molly thanked her.

"You know I couldn't let that happen. Not to you, not to your family." Hermione couldn't understand why Molly was thanking her. She did what she had to do. And she was glad she had done it.

"After Fred died I thought that the world was going to end. Voldemort was alive and one of my sons was laying in a destroyed Hogwards, dead. And then we learned that Harry was dead. I thought this was the end. It was impossible that so many bad things could happen. But you carried on fighting and at the end we won. I knew then that Fred's death had been worth the price. But I can't lose another son. And thanks to you that did not happen." Molly confided in Hermione, admiring her bravery.

The two apparated to the hospital were Charlie had been taken and they waited for his wake up.

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><p><strong>Here you are ! Hope that relieved some of you! What did you think about this chapter?<strong>

**Thank you all for your amazing reviews :)**


	12. Chapter 12 : 12 December

Charlie did not know if he was alive or dead. He knew he should feel pain but he did not. He felt like he was floating in cotton. His whole body was numb, he was supposed to be crying in pain but here he was wondering what happened to him. He fought to open his eyes, his eyelids weighing kilos. He was surprised to find himself in an hospital.

He wanted to move but he could not, his body feeling like a stone. He wanted to understand, he wanted to move. What if he was now a crippled? How could he survive if he was disabled? How could he go on being paralyzed? A disabled dragon-tamer was useless… Or maybe he was crazy, like the Longbottom, and this was only a lucid phase? He knew he had been tortured and he knew the damage that could occur. He began panicking, he wanted to scream for help but his voice was lower than a whisper.

His frantic movements woke Hermione up. Despite everyone's advices she had stayed in Charlie's room since she arrived at the hospital. She was dead worried and she wanted to be here when he woke up. Having been tortured herself, she knew the first moment were the most difficult.

"It's alright Charlie you are safe" she said, trying to reassure him. She wanted to hug him, to hold him close so that he would never leave her again. But she knew that he was probably scared and that he might fear contact for a few months. She went closer to his bed, so that he could see her face.

"What's my favorite dish?" he asked, his voice still croaky. Hermione laughed, she knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to be sure he had not been lured another time.

"Your favorite dish is mashed potatoes à la mode Molly. We first encountered during the tri wizard tournament. I kept asking you questions about dragons, especially the one Harry fought. I did not see you after that, except for the battle at Hogwarts. When you saw me walking with Ron, our hands entwined you congratulate us. Is that enough for you or do you want me to cast a patronus?" She was trying to show him that she was the real Hermione, to soothe his fears.

"Oh Merlin Hermione" he exhaled, before finally managing to move again and pulling her in a hug by surprise. She did not move, only engulf him in her embrace. She spoke when she felt his tears.

"We are all alive, we are fine. Nothing's going to happen." She hated knowing that he was so broken that he was crying. Each of his tears was like a knife in her heart.

He quickly wiped out his tears and looked at her, smiling. "I am so happy right now." She could hear that he meant it and when he began to lean in to kiss her she found herself going to his lips. She wanted so badly to kiss him. His feelings were all over the place but he knew that he needed Hermione. He needed to feel her lips and kiss her. The last days had been too stressful for him and he just wanted to be with Hermione. Their lips were inches apart when suddenly the door to Charlie's room opened and a bunch of Weasley came in.

Hermione jumped away as quickly as she could. She was blushing furiously and hoping that no one had seen them. Ginny was grinning at her and Ron was raising one eyebrow, so that she knew that she had been spotted. The rest of the Weasley seemed to be oblivious, too happy to see Charlie awake.

Molly was hugging her son tightly and Charlie barely managed to whisper "I can't breath". Arthur had to go to his wife and tap on her shoulder saying "I think you have to let go if you don't want to kill him" before Molly finally released her son. Everyone was laughing at that point except Charlie.

He was intently looking at everyone, glad to see they weren't hurt. Each of the Weasley family's members then took turn, hugging him and whispering a few words to him.

Charlie was surprised when Ron said totally serious "I am glad you are back brother. But if you ever going to hurt Hermione I can promise you that this was nothing compared to what I will do to you" Charlie could only nod, understanding Ron's point of view. He was very confused. They had nearly kissed and he knew she had wanted it too. After all she had leaned in.

But was it right to do it? Since she arrived they had been turning around each other but the last day's events showed him that his whole life was ultra-dangerous. Not only because of the dragons, but also because some people were willing to kill to get to them. Could he put her into that? Yes he already did it but still. What if she had been in his place? He could never have forgotten himself, he knew that. And even if she wanted to be with him she had a job. A job she loved so much she had begun to lose her friends for it. He had to stop this masquerade. There was no way they could be together.

Bill turn came after Ron's and the two brothers hug tightly. Charlie spoke with a firm voice "Please tell me you didn't come to my rescue." He knew how Fleur and Victoire were important for Bill and he had grown close to his sister-in-law. The last thing he wanted was to have his brother in danger because of him. Charlie truly hated the fact that someone was willing to put his life at risk for him. "Don't worry brother I didn't. I knew you were going to kill me." Bill added playfully.

When it was Ginny's turn she made them all laugh by saying "Now that Harry had settled down a bit you had to go and put your life at stake. Why do you guys want to give me a heart-attack?"

After one hour of talking, Charlie was feeling a bit tired and he could feel himself slowly falling asleep. His family took that as a sign to leave. He soon fell into a dreamless sleep.

Hermione was troubled. Has she really wanted to kiss Charlie? Or was it just because she was relieved that he was alive? She could see that Ginny was dying to talk to her and she sighed. Ginny was one of her closest friend and she always had been a gossiper. Of course she would want to know what was happening between Charlie and her. But maybe that could help her sort her feelings?

So she decided to come to Ginny and explained her the whole situation from their kiss on New Year's eve to the events of the last day. To say that Ginny was shocked was an understatement. "You had this romance going on with my brother since one year and none of us saw it? That's incredible!"

"But what if there is nothing between us? I mean we only kissed once? And we both have our jobs!" Hermione was beginning to panic and Ginny had trouble calming her.

"Come on Hermione, you can't deny that you are attracted to him. I mean he is dead gorgeous" that earned Ginny a troubled glance "It's not because he is my brother that I can't see that he is good looking. And he trust you. You are really good alone but when you are together you can achieve so much, look at what you did in the reserve!"

"Oh my God Ginny! Do you know where they kept the son of bitch we captured yesterday?" Ginny was shocked at Hermione's language and change of subject. But she could understand her. She was trying to avoid this awkward conversation and at the same time she could only hate the guy that tortured Charlie for a whole day.

"They locked him in the dungeons. If you want there is also Alexander there" Hermione was gone in a flash. She really needed some answers.

She was at the door to the dungeon when the leader of the investigation, his name was Stan she remembered, stopped her.

"I know what you want to do but you can't. We can't thank you enough for your help but this is now the reserve and Romania's business. Go back to your family." His voice was firm and she knew that this time she could not overtake him.

"Are you going to interrogate him? Are you going to find who did that to my friends?" she asked, her voice filled with anger. She had always thought than more than one year after the end of the war she could rest in peace. But it seemed fate liked to be rough.

"Of course we are. But only the reserve's workers have the right to go down."

Hearing that, she smiled and ran upstairs. She burst into Charlie's room. She was happy to see that he was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful that she lost a few minutes just looking at him.

"See something you like?" she heard his voice taunting her. She could not help but smile. But her face became serious again when she began speaking

"Charlie do you think you are strong enough to face Alexander? I want to interrogate him but I can't as I'm not working in the reserve…" Her plan was to go with Charlie as he was still weak of his torture. It was horrible that she had come to such extremities but it was the only way for her to get to Alexander.

"Why do you want it?" She could hear that he was tired even if he pretended not to be.

"I want to find the truth. They hurt you and I need to understand why. How did they manage to enter the reserve? How did they poison everyone? Why did they do this? Who is the big boss? Why did Alexander do that?" She looked at him, pleading. He could not resist her and he already knew it. But he had to try.

"Why don't you let Stan do his work?" After all if there was an investigation it was to answer all this questions.

"I don't trust them. They only sent thirty men at your rescue! And I prefer to do it myself. They are politicians, we can't fully trust them!" Hermione knew her errant was a bit pathetic but she firmly believed in what she had said. In her point of view they had not reacted strong and fast enough.

"Ok I will do it. But you have to promise me than whatever we discover if I tell you to drop it you will do it." Hermione hated this condition. But it was the only way she could advance. She needed answers. So she nodded and helped Charlie out of bed.

She hated herself and her stubbornness when he fell on her. He was still too weak. Why was she so impatient? Maybe because he had been injured. She wanted her revenge.

"If you can't we can stop" she proposed. She did not want him to kill himself. But Charlie hated being weak.

"No. We are going to do that and we are going to kick their asses." He needed to overcome what happened the previous day. He needed his revenge. He could not forget that two eggs had disappeared, and were probably dead by now.

When they finally managed to arrive to the dungeon Stan scolded at Hermione.

"I can't let you do that… He barely manages to stand!" He was impressed by their courage but they were beginning to anger him. What were they thinking? He could do his job! He did not need two civilians to go and ruin his investigation.

"That's why she is here. She is my support. And, as the manager of the dragon tamers, I want to speak to Alexander. I need to understand his actions." Charlie spoke firmly, as if he had every right to be here. But Stan was at ease. If they wanted to see Alexander no problem, but they could not approach the man in black. This one was his. He let them pass and accompanied them to Alexander's cell. He was definitely staying with them through their interrogation. Maybe they would learn something interesting.

"Look who are here. The fucking ginger and his mudblood whore. To what do I owe the displeasure?" Alexander was trying to set them off but that did not work. Charlie only wanted to hear answers and Hermione had promised to remain calm.

Charlie sat on a chair and exhaled deeply. Merlin was he tired! Luckily Hermione put her left hand on his right shoulder and that gave him strength to carry on.

"We want answers. If you tell us everything that might help you to have less time in Azkaban."

"What do you want to know? I will see if I can answer." Alexander was not stupid. He was in deep shit for what he had done.

"Why did you do that?" Charlie was straightforward as always. He had no time to lose with stupid questions.

"You were going to take over the reserve. I am way better than you with dragons. It was my rightful right to manage it!" Alexander was already becoming agitated which was not a good sign. Hermione was ready to intervene as was Stan.

"If you were so good with dragons why were you going to let them kill them all?"

"I was supposed to give them a killing poison but I couldn't. That is my reserve I can't kill my dragons. That's why they were only groggy. So that they could survive if they were able to fight"

"Why did you poison us?" Aleanxder's explanations had shaken Charlie. He was kind of glad that for his former colleague the dragons still came first. At least he was not a total monster.

"I fucking hate you and I would have no problem killing you but not your family. Too much difficulties. But I must say that hitting you was pleasurable and I would have like a private moment with the mudblood" he added with a big grin. Charlie was going to lose his self-control, Hermione could see it. She did not react to his words towards her. She was so used to it that it did not anger her anymore. Just sadden her.

"How did you manage to get all those potions?" Stan asked, getting interested in Alexander's explanations.

"You will have to ask your mudblood friend." Hermione was shocked to hear him. All looks converged to her.

"What do you mean?" She was clearly lost. She had no idea what he wanted.

"The potions were among your bouquets."

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><p><strong>What did you think of the almost kiss? And Alexander last words?<br>I am not sure that I wil lbe able to publish tomorrow (exams) but I will try to post two chapters on Sunday !**

Don't forget to review, it makes me write faster!


	13. Chapter 13 : 13th December

Hermione froze. Her bouquets? What did he mean? How could her bouquets all potions? How could she not have seen it? She looked up and saw Stan and Charlie's confused faces. She was not the only one having difficulties to understand what Alexander meant. She could feel Stan preparing himself to tackle her. She found him stupid. First she had nothing to do with this mess, second why would she even come here if she was guilty and finally he was not discreet at all! If he wanted to sneak on her he had to be more silent and smooth.

Charlie spoke for her. "Care to explain what you mean by the potions were among your bouquets?" Hermione could feel the anger lacing his voice and she wanted nothing else than to calm him. She was shocked by Alexander's revelation but she was beginning to see Charlie's fatigue and she felt bad. She had pushed him to come there when he needed rest. He could barely walk and after what happened to him she was wondering if she took the right decision…

"The potions I used, I found them in the bouquets. They were transfigured as flowers. Care to explain how they came there Mudblood?" Alexander answered with a devilish grin. He was truly enjoying himself.

Hermione was frozen on spot. She had no idea how this could be possible. And she could feel Charlie's gaze on her. She was ashamed. What if they believed him? She had done nothing wrong! She looked pleadingly in his eyes. He had to understand she was not responsible of this disaster. She did not care about Stan. Only Charlie mattered. If Charlie believed her, she knew there won't be a problem. But if he did not then she was in for trouble…

She wanted to smack Alexander face on the table. He was so happy to have embarrassed her. She had to think! She could not lose time because they thought she was responsible of something she never did.

Charlie was more than confused. How could Hermione have done something so terrible? His whole body was hurting him, he still had trouble staying awake and here he was, having his whole world spinning around. It could not be Hermione, his heart was screaming. But then how did the potions appear in her flowers? His brain was asking him. His head began hurting him. He thought he was going to die from exhaustion when they went down to the dungeons but he had been so wrong.

He took his head in his hands. He could not bear the thought of her doing something so horrible. She fought to death for Merlin's sake. Why would she even do that? That was a good question. He looked up to her. She was looking willingly at him. He could see her resolve in her eyes and her plead. She was not guilty, he was nearly sure of it.

Stan surprised them all by going out the room and asking them to follow him.

"I understand miss Granger that you are not behind any of this. But I still need to interrogate you about this. If I don't, then my case might be found faulty. "

"I didn't do anything. I began receiving those flowers two months after I arrived at the ministry." She could see their shocked faces. Yes it was odd that she had received flowers within such a long time period but it was not her fault.

"And you never wondered who sent them to you?" she was not sure but she thought she detected a bit of anger in Charlie's voice. She tried to explain why she never investigated her mysterious admirer but she could sense that Charlie's tiredness was beginning to take its toll. He was being grumpy, interrupting her and he was definitely angry.

"Charlie, I think you are too tired to have this conversation. I will bring you back to your room." He could not believe his ears. She was dismissing him when they were talking about who had done so much prejudice to him! There was no way he was going to stop now.

"No. We need to do this." His tone was final and that brought her too to the edge. She had barely slept since the whole incident and she had lived a real roller coaster emotionally. She knew that it was her tiredness speaking but she could not find the strength to be polite anymore.

"No Charlie. Not in the middle of the night."

Stan was feeling a bit excluded. He was seeing them both arguing with each other but he could not say a word. This was the fight between them and he was merely a spectator. For the moment it was still professional but he knew from personal experience that it will soon turn personal. He was not disappointed.

"You are as stubborn as your brother Charlie. And as stupid!" Hermione was furious. They were in no condition to investigate. He could barely stand up for Merlin's sake.

She found him stupid? And she compared him to Ron? How dare she? Charlie only cared about the Reserve. It was his job. The great Hermione Granger seemed to forget that his whole world was falling. One of his colleague had betrayed him, his reserve was nearly all burnt thanks to Norbert and Hermione and two eggs were missing!

"Sorry to annoy you with my requests miss know-it-all!" He knew this little title could hurt her much more than everything else. When they talked he had discerned her fear of being an insufferable bookworm. Attacking her now with this was low but she had compared him to Ron. For someone outside it was not an insult but for Charlie it was. He was definitely not like his little brother and he hated being compared to him and whoever in his family. He was proud of them yes. But he hated being compared to them.

"At least I know something! Not only dragons!" Stan knew he had to stop them because they were hurting each other deeply but they did not listen to him.

"You only know how to be insufferable"

"At least I am smart enough to know that now is not the right time to investigate"

"Do you imply that I am stupid?"

"Yes Charlie I do!"

"Sometimes I wonder how you managed to have friends. No wonder you work so much. That's the only thing you will ever have" He could see the tears forming in her eyes but he could not stop. His headache had increased and he just wanted her to help him. To understand why he needed the truth so much.

"You're so dumb you can't even see that I do this for your own good! If you want to get killed fine, I am done caring about you." She left angrily.

She climbed the stairs to the main lounge, trying to restrain her tears. She was so mad at Charlie and he had hurt her! She only wanted to protect him, to do things the right way. But, as Ron, he was too stubborn to see the dangers. She could not bear staying there with the whole Weasley family. So, without a word, she apparated to her home. She needed some space and some time to think. She needed her peace.

Charlie looked up at a shocked Stan. It was as if he suddenly came out his own world.

"I really fucked up didn't I?" Stan could hear in Charlie's voice the desperation and also the tiredness. Stan was quick enough to grab Charlie before he collapsed. Their whole fight had taken his toll on Charlie and he had no strength left. "Could you help me to my room? It seems I don't have any energy left…" Charlie felt bad. First he did not like asking for help, second he had pushed Hermione away because he wanted answers but he could not even stand up anymore. He had been stupid. But he needed to rest.

With Stan's help, who was really wondering how he ended up in a fight and then carrying one of the opponents to the bed, Charlie managed to go back to his room. He lay on his bed, exhausted. He thought that the whole ordeal with Hermione would keep him awake but he was more tired than he believed. He felt asleep immediately.

Hermione was pacing furiously in her apartment. She was more than furious and she was even a bit afraid of the strength of her feelings. But she was not stupid. She knew that she was hurt more than usual because during her stay at the reserve she had thought that Charlie understood her. Hearing the same insults from him were like a knife in the back, extremely painful. She had trusted him and he betrayed her. She felt used. Used and cheap. She was dead tired by all this. When she thought back she could remember talking with Ginny, telling her that about her mixed feelings. How dumb she had been. There was no way she could ever have feelings for him now. He was too damn stupid.

Knowing she had nothing else to do if she wanted to resume working on the morning she went to bed. As soon as her head touched her pillow she was asleep.

It was a long night, especially for Stan. He had been in the middle of their fight and he could only see two young wizards, caring for each other but doing stupid things because they had been hurt. He knew that Charlie had not fully grasped yet the fact that he had been tortured. He feared his breakdown. The man seemed to live only for the reserve. Hermione, on the other hand, looked more like she had been thrown into this mess. Why send her flowers for two years? It was insane, sheer luck that she had been at the reserve. But he still had to found who had sent her flowers. If they could find her secret admirer they would come closer to find the mastermind behind the attack. Stan went back to work, trying to think of a trap.

Charlie was still groggy when he woke up. He might have slept nearly ten hours but his body was still screaming, in pain. But he was determined to find Hermione and apologize. He had been a jerk and it was in his nature to recognize his faults.

His first reflex was to call his family, even if he knew he would have to explain later why he needed to find Hermione. He thought a bit before calling Ron. His youngest brother had seen them interact and he knew Hermione better than anyone else, especially an angry Hermione. Ron arrived almost immediately.

They never were close, the difference between them too high when they were young. When Charlie left for Romania Ron just entered Hogwarts. They did not stay in touch with each other, he barely received one letter each year from Ron and he sent only one for his birthday. It was not that they did not love each other, it was just that they never had the opportunity to be close. Before going to Hogwarts, Ron was too young to interact with Charlie, who always preferred Ginny. Ron was not mad because of it. He always was the guy left over. He came after the twins who were quite handful and one year later Ginny came to life. Being the only girl in the family she was spoiled a lot. Ron grew up a bit on his own, never receiving full attention from his family. He was not as funny as the twin and not quite as witty as Ginny. They often joked about his clumsiness.

When he entered Hogwarts and met the famous Harry Potter, his life took a turn. He still was in the shadow of someone, everyone knew Harry, he was just his sidekick. But for once he had a real friend. Harry confined in him and he confined in Harry. He took him a few more years and Hermione's guidance to become the man he was today. Yes, during the war he had abandoned his two best friends. But it had been a catharsis. As if with this last betrayal, Ron had finally found his place. He was now proudly working as an Auror, a choice dictated by his own mind. He did not do it just because his best friend was one too. He even asked to not be in the same group than Harry. He was used to be someone's shadow and accepted it. Now it was time for him to become master of his own destiny. And he was a very good Auror. Being with Hermione had taught him to be careful about each detail and numerous spells. Being with Harry had taught him to always be alert. He was now in charge of his own group of Auror. Seeing a psychologist helped him a lot too.

Ron wondered why Charlie wanted to see him specifically. When Charlie explained the situation, Ron could not help but be amazed by their similarities. It seemed that they were more alike that they had ever known. He could see that Charlie was sincere and regretful. He knew too well the feelings he must felt at that moment. How many time had he a fight with Hermione? But before helping his brother he needed to know what were his feelings towards Hermione. There was no way he would help him if Charlie only wanted to have fun with Hermione. Hermione was dearer to his heart than his own blood. She was more than a sister to him.

Charlie did not like talking about his feelings but Ron was willing to help him if he was honest. So honest he was. He told him about everything, from their first kiss to the last days. He told him he was not sure of his feelings for Hermione, which was true. But it hurt him to know she was mad at him. Ron liked what his brother told him. He knew before Charlie the extent of his real feelings. There was a possibility those two loved each other, he felt. So he decided to help Charlie.

Hermione woke up, energy at full level. She jumped in the shower and not fifteen minutes later she was ready to face whatever the day had in store for her. She decided that, after the last days she earned some rest so she stayed in her apartment. That was a lame excuse to not have to come back to the reserve, where she had left all her work, and she knew it. She began by cleaning everything she had the Muggle way. She found it far more satisfying than casting a spell. When she felt a bit more peaceful, she felt like it was time for her to indulge in her passion. She grasped a book and began reading. It was her way to cope with everything and to reach peace. Reading helped her to overcome her problems and often gave her a new perspective. She visibly relaxed. She sighed happily, her worries long forgotten. She was in her own world, soothed by a warm tea.

She was startled when her bell rang. She quickly went to the door, ready to throw away whoever broke her peace. She was certainly not ready to see Charlie.

He felt out of place, useless. He was too big for the hall and he had both his hands full. When Hermione opened the door, he saw the surprise in her face, followed surprisingly quickly by determination.

"To what do I own the honor Charles Weasley?" she was mad at him, truly mad at him. And when she was mad at someone she usually used the most formal tone. She had learned that being extremely polite and cold could send someone over the edge very quickly. She had a quick smile, thinking about Dolores who had taught her the trick during her fifth year. You can truly hate someone who is too polite. On top of that, she knew that Charlie hated being called by his formal name. She saw his jaw tighten but she was surprised to see him relax a few seconds later.

"I came here to apologize. And before you say anything, I am sorry. I can either say all I have to say in your hall or in your apartment. Just know that I brought chocolate and a book that I believe you will like." It might have sound strange but Charlie was following Ron's advices. It seemed to work as Hermione asked which book he brought.

"It's some observations about dragons and dragon-tamers, their relationship. It was written by Ken Grolet, a famous journalist in Romania. But before I tell you more would you like a refill of tea?"

He had piqued Hermione's curiosity. She had always been fascinated by books. And here he was, talking about someone she had never heard before about something as fascinating as dragon tamers. She knew what he was trying to do. He wanted her to forget why she was mad at him. It was not going to work.

"I want to hear your reasons for being there. We will see after that if I want to hear more about this book." Her ton was harsh and she saw him winced. She was quite happy to not have fallen into his trap. It was a bit low to come here and lure her to forgiveness with a book after calling her a bookworm. She was not going to let him live this one down. She intended to stay mad at him.

"First of all let me say that you were right, I was stupid" She was astonished to see him begin his apologies this way. She tried to refrain her smile but it was hard to hide it when his beautiful blue eyes were looking intently in hers. "I should have listened to you. We were not ready to come with a plan. I am awfully sorry for using purposely insults that I knew would hurt you." He took her hand and carried on talking "I know that I was horrible, saying those things to you, especially knowing how much they hurt you. I was mean to you. I betrayed your trust, using what you told me to hurt you deeply. For that I am sorry" He looked at her during his whole speech and she could see the sincerity in his voice and his eyes. He was truly sorry.

Was she going to accept his apologies? He had hurt her badly, bringing her back to her school years. Yes he was sorry but did it mean that he was not going to do it a second time? She knew that it took a few years for Ron to learn not to hurt her. Was she ready to do the same to Charlie? Thinking about Ron, she wondered if he told Charlie how he managed to always come back to her good grace. That was typically why she hated forgiving him. He knew her more than anyone and used her weaknesses to overcome her anger. Chocolate and books for example. She knew it! Ron helped his brother. He was not even trying to be a bit original. She decided to torture him a bit.

"And why did you do such things?" her voice was emotionless and that disturbed Charlie. He thought she was going to indulge a bit more emotion at that point. But so be it. He was not going to lie to her.

"I wanted to hurt you." She took a step back, shocked by his answer. He saw the fear in her eyes and she was trying to reach her wand. He stopped her calmly. "Do not misunderstand me, Hermione. I wanted to hurt you yes. Because you hurt me and I was hurt. Physically and emotionally I mean" Charlie took a big breath, ready to show her his weakest side. "I was tired, dead tired. And I could not stop thinking about the attack. What if it had been someone else who had been taken? What would I've done? I need answers Hermione. I need to understand how such a disaster happened, who was behind all this. I need to know where the two missing eggs are. I need to know because it seems it's the only thing that helps me staying sane. Yes I was dead tired and I was mad that you could not understand what a little delay might do to the investigation. But I was stupid because you only wanted to protect myself."

Hermione did not know what to think anymore. Charlie was so truthful, she was not ready to hear him. She thought he was going to lie to her but he had been brutally honest. Who was she to not understand his distress? If her work was endangered would she not do everything possible to save it?

"I wanted to protect you Charlie and you hurt me" she sounded like a child and she knew it. But this was as simple as she stated.

"I know. It's just that I am not used to someone caring about me. Usually I am the one caring about other. And if I get hurt I just swallow the pain and go back to work. That's how I roll. I am not a gentleman. I am a dragon tamer. I am not used to express my feelings. We usually deal in absolute. So I am sorry because I was an insufferable jerk. I even never thanked you for everything you did!"

She could see he was nearing his breaking point. She wanted to clear everything between them before helping him with the whole torture business.

"It's okay Charlie. I forgive you. It was stupid of me to extirpate you from your bed and get mad when your tiredness took his toll on your judgment. And there is no need to thank me. You would have done the same if the situation was reversed."

Charlie released a big breath and she giggled. "Now some handsome boy told me something about tea and chocolate" she teased him.

"So you find me handsome? Good to know" he replied with a playful grin. She smacked him jokingly on the arm and he pretended to be hurt before going to her kitchen to prepare some tea.

She found herself strangely happy to have him back. It was not as if they had been separated, but when she had decided to not see him anymore, she had felt a bit empty. For twelve days now she had learned to know him. She did not regret yet to have forgiven him. They both had been stupid and she knew that comparing him to Ron was the worse she could ever do. Especially as they flirt a lot. It was as if she had smacked him on the face. She wanted to admonish herself for being so weak but she decided to compromise. Yes she had forgiven him but that did not mean she trusted him completely. And she was certain she would never have any feelings for him. She was completely relaxed when Charlie came back from the kitchen with two mugs of tea.

"So… Watcha doing?" asked a very unsure Charlie. She liked seeing him as insecure as herself. It helped her to see she was not the only one with troubles in this strange relationship. Even if now she was sure she did not feel a damn thing about him, she added in her head.

"Someone came here with a book I never heard of. Care to give me more details?" She wanted him to relax a bit. She wanted them to have some calm moments. It was only three days ago but it seemed like an eternity since the last time they were alone, without any disturbance or stress.

Charlie began talking about his book and she asked him questions whenever she felt he was not giving enough details. She was happy that he had chosen a book about the relationship between dragons and dragon tamers. She hated to admit it, but she never understood it. Charlie was smiling the whole time, simply happy to talk about his passion. Whenever he crossed Hermione's look his smile got bigger. She helped him relax and he was so very grateful for it. They chatted idly and drank tea. After their fifth cup Hermione decided it was the right time to reach the subject. She braced herself and began talking.

"Charlie, I think it would be good if we talked about what happened two days ago" she was not sure her voice did not betray her, but inside she was frightened. They just made up, she did not want to lose him stupidly. But having suffered from the same thing she knew he needed to talk about it.

"There is nothing to talk about." His tone was final.

"Charlie please let me help you. Remember what I told you? I've been there too." She wanted to reassure him, to soothe his fear.

"But you weren't there when the only thing I could felt was pain. You weren't there when even staying alive hurt more than anything else I suffered before. You weren't there when I couldn't remember who I was." He was on the verge of tears. She wanted to reach him, to embrace him but she knew that at this point it was the worst thing to do.

"Bellatrix engraved Mudblood on my arm. She used so many Cruciatus I lost count. And it was just for fun"

"They used Legimency. To know my fears and to see how I would react if I had to face them…"

"And I am sure you faced them bravely, as you always do." She was nearly crying but she forced herself to show him her vibrant smile.

"At one point I knew my worst fear was to have someone rescue me. Can you even imagine?"

"I was tortured by Bellatrix. I saw only one way out: becoming as Longbottom's parents, crazy."

Charlie could not take it anymore. He cried. She immediately embraced him, whispering soothing words in his ear.

"I can't take it Hermione, I can't. I thought I was strong but I was wrong."

"No you were right. You could have died. But you survived because you are strong. I know it will take some time but one day you will not think about this. One day you will wake up smiling. And I will be so proud of you."

He looked up at her. When his eyes met hers he could not resist his impulse. He ever so slowly reached for her lips. When their lips finally touched an electrical sparkle flew through them. It was magical.

Hermione was a bit surprised that he kissed her at this point but she was so happy that he did. She could feel her resolve melting like snow in the sun. Everything seemed to disappear when they finally kissed. Charlie was in heaven. Her lips were so soft he could cry.

Their magical moment was abruptly broke by a knock at Hermione's door. They disentangled themselves from each other and looked awkwardly at each other. Another knock at Hermione's door made her finally move. She opened the door and was quite surprised to see Stan. She let him in and he began talking enthusiastically.

"We interrogate the man in black. He did not say anything. But we think he will break soon. He has everything to lose if he stays silent. Alexander reluctantly told us he had hidden the two missing eggs. He wanted the reserve to keep some just in case. That might ease his sentence. And we are tracking the owl that delivered the flowers to you miss Granger. We will have the results soon. Do you mind if we wait here for them? I thought you might want to know what was happening and get involved."

"That's a great…hurh… idea. Thank you for your implication. Do you want some tea?" Hermione could feel the awkwardness flowing from her to Charlie. She tried to pretend that nothing was happening and she busied herself in being a perfect hostess. She absolutely did not want to think about what happened. Charlie was too shocked to react. He was frozen on spot. He had kissed her! And she kissed him back! And this stupid inspector had to break everything. But they had found the two missing eggs! Charlie's mind was spiraling in every direction and he did not know how to react anymore. Was he happy? Yes he was, he was more than happy. But he was mad that their kiss was broken.

Stan was oblivious to the tension in the room and chatted happily with Charlie. When Hermione came back, she let Stan talk most of the time as she was too stunned to have a proper conversation. They waited two hours in Hermione's comfy apartment before an owl knocked at one of the window.

"That's should be the results. Are you ready?" asked Stan, excited as a kid before Christmas.

"Just open it already" Charlie knew he was rude but he was too tensed to care.

"Ladies first" Hermione took the letter with shaking hands. She opened it and read it fast. Then she read it a second time. And a third. Both men were waiting for her to say something, anything. She read it a fourth time and just said "this little bastard". She then fainted.

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><p><strong>Okay I am late but life happened so yeah... Hope you enjoyed the chapter ! It's the longest ever written so I hope you will find it convincing :) I don't know when I will post the next chapter but I hope to finish this stoy before the end of february :)<strong>

**Don't forget to review and thanks for following and favoriting :)**


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